


A Wolf's Cry

by Enigmatic_Mind2016



Category: Ice Age (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Blue Eyed Wolves, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Road Trips, Wolves, will add more tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:29:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26679754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigmatic_Mind2016/pseuds/Enigmatic_Mind2016
Summary: (Cross-posted from Wattpad)Being an Omega was hard. Eating scraps, fighting off Alphas, always finding herself at the bottom of the heap. Exiled, nearly killed, taken in by humans, and thrust back out into the wild again. Can Keeva learn there's more to life than merely surviving it? (Follows Ice Age 1)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

She hunkered down low in the temporary shelter of a hollowed out log, trying to quiet her harsh panting. Her ears perked forward, straining to listen for any signs of her pursuer. Outside her log shelter, the forest was quiet. A breeze rustled the leaves and she was able to scent a few prey animals, but nothing more. A creek babbled close by, birds twittered, and squirrels chattered from the safety of the treetops. There was none of the eerie silence that gave way to trouble, on all accounts, the coast was clear.

Still, she was cautious as she eased herself out of hiding. She sniffed the air again and eyed the surrounding trees like a skittish doe, realizing precious seconds too late that she had revealed herself too soon. A low growl emitted close by, and she turned her head at just the right time to see a pale body lunging at her like a lightning strike. Resigning herself to her defeat, she put up no fight as she found her body tumbled to the floor, rolling a complete rotation, with her adversary ending up as top dog.

She laid there a moment in stunned silence when instead of feeling teeth in her neck, she was greeted with the sound of laughter. Familiar laughter. Ire raising, she opened the eyes that she had clenched shut in fear, and let out a low growl of her own. Above her stood an off-white she-wolf, her sister, basking in the glory of her mock hunt.

"What's the big idea, Sage?"

"Oh come off it, Keeva," Sage said pretty green eyes dancing with mirth. "It was all in good fun."

"Fun for you maybe," Keeva said pushing her sister off of her, "but Omegas don't play this way." The darker wolf stood to her paws and shook the dust out of her coat. "Aw, I'm sorry, Keeva," the Alpha pup said stepping forward to nuzzle her sister's neck. "I was just practice hunting for lunch."

"Fantastic," Keeva said returning the affection, "because I think I lost mine somewhere back there."

"You did? Gross."

"You're telling me," Keeva barked as she and Sage started meandering their way back to the main den. "Those berries tasted bad enough the first time!" She shuddered mockingly to emphasize the point. Sage grinned at her sister's antics, but it faltered. "You...you didn't get any of the elk the hunting party brought back?"

"No, I did, but Aura..." the dark pup didn't need to finish the sentence. Sage knew that her fellow Alpha had stolen from her little sister and she felt her hackles start to rise as a result. Keeva nosed her cheek, intense blue eyes pleading with her. "Don't Sage," she muttered, "don't go picking fights on my account." Sage peered deep into her eyes for a moment, green eyes so focused that Keeva felt she was being challenged, she held her gaze a little anxiously, hoping her sister would see things her way and relent. Their pack already had enough problems with opposing packs to worry about fighting amongst each other. Finally, Sage backed off, resigned and discontent. "Fine," she yielded, "but if I catch wind of this again, she'll be sorry." Keeva nodded agreeably, but she fretted silently. Aura was but one wolf in near hundreds that gave her a hard time, and if all Aura was going to do was steal her food...well, Keeva counted herself lucky and went on her merry way. She was more resilient than her mother and sister gave her credit for, but she couldn't blame them, they could only see her through the eyes of Alphas.

Sage kept her eyes locked dead ahead, a menacing growl rumbling up from the base of her throat. Keeva's tail tucked instinctively. Fighting back the urge to whimper, Keeva loped out in front of her sister, forcing her to stop short, and dropped into a play bow. Smiling broadly, she tipped her head to one side, trying to draw her sister out of her dark thoughts. "You wanna race home?"

Sage grinned, thoughts of vengeance dissipating as she dropped down in a similar bow. "Sure, if you're so eager to have me take you down twice in one day." Keeva laughed mockingly, "we'll see about that."

"Girls."

The voice was new, but familiar to both pups who were grinning as they turned to greet the newcomer. "Hey Mom," Sage said, "what's up?" Keeva followed. "It's time to say goodbye dears." Keeva's heart bottomed out, tears stinging her eyes almost immediately as she glanced over at her sister. "Do you really have to go?" Keeva asked her tone wobbly. "Don't worry, it's only for the winter, I'll be back before you know it." Sage tried to sound encouraging, but the thrill of Alpha school had been lost when it was discovered that Keeva could not go with her. It was made even worse by Keeva's subtle sniffling as she tried to keep from crying in front of her. Sage nuzzled deep into the dark fur of her sister's neck, inhaling her scent for the last time, hoping to carry the memory of it through the harsh winter ahead. "When I come back," she said her own voice shaking, "I'll teach you everything I know. You'll be the strongest Omega ever."

Keeva's tail wagged, young mind already fantasizing such a version of herself, but chased it away momentarily to focus on her sister. "I'd like that," she said honestly. "Just don't change too much, okay? I don't want a snotty Alpha sister." Sage barked out a laugh and nipped her ears in a playful reprimand. "I won't! Just take care of yourself and I'll see you in the spring okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too," Sage said over her shoulder as she walked to their mother's side. "You'll be back soon, Mom?" Keeva hated to think of herself as dependent on her family's protection, but she was. "I'll be back in two days," her mother said, "stay close to Ribar until then. She'll keep you safe."

Keeva watched them go until their bodies disappeared over the hills. The forest was quiet again, suddenly her favorite place felt like a lonely and desolate thick of trees. Sighing hollowly, Keeva pushed herself to her feet and made her way back to the den, head and tail low.

Keeva snuck her away around the main packsite, concealing her body in the surrounding foliage as she made her way to Ribar's den. Practically sprinting up the steep incline to the den's entry. Some might of thought that such behavior in your own home was a little overly cautious, others thought it was just plain crazy, but to Keeva it was survival. Being an Omega made her the target of many Alphas, and not just the pups. Thankfully, however, most of the Alpha pups had left for Alpha School, Aura included, so she had relatively little trouble making it to her fellow Omega's den.

"Ribar?" Keeva called out tentatively as she peered into the dark cavern. "Are you home?" There was movement in the back and suddenly a pup her age was racing up to meet her. "Keeva, you're here!" Yule called out barreled up to her and nuzzled enthusiastically. Keeva laughed shoving the red sable furred male away from her. Yule was Ribar's son, her only surviving pup of her first litter, and likely the only reason she was permitted to stay.

Most Omegas were driven out once they were fully grown, but sometimes certain acceptations were made. In this case an unexpected pregnancy. Now that Yule was six months old, it wouldn't be long before both he and his mother were driven out. Of course, the same could be said for Keeva, exile wasn't a matter of if for her, simply when.

"Mom's gone to get some rations from this afternoon's kill. She'll be back soon." Yule informed her as they made their way to the back of the den. "It's so cool that you're staying with us for a few days, and even better the Alphas won't be here to bother us, we can do whatever we want!" Keeva rolled her eyes at his excitement, but grinned just the same, he acted as if he didn't see her every day as it was, but she faltered a bit at the mention of Alphas. Her good mood dropped a little as her thoughts returned to Sage, her best friend, who she wouldn't see again until spring. "Yeah, I guess we can, I really wish Sage was here though." Yule grimaced at Keeva's obvious grievance, not having any siblings himself, he didn't understand the importance or the strength in a bond between littermates.

"Well," he said, "at least you can rest assured knowing she's kicking Aura's butt in school." Keeva snorted a laugh, unable to keep the image out of her head, wishing she could see it in person. She'd have to ask Sage for details later, after all, Sage had promised to teach her what she learned. "Yeah," Keeva laughed, "there is that."

"So," Keeva started scratching behind her ear idly, "you wanna play kick rock?" Yule's mischievous grin was all the answer she needed.

In truth, their little game could use a better name, but they were only three when they had come up with the game and had picked the name that was most obvious to what they were doing. Which was kicking a moderate sized rock by use of any part of the body, to keep it off the ground. Each time the rock fell, the other wolf gained a point. Simple. However, as Keeva returned the rock with a hip bump, she thought it might be time to try and find something softer and less bruise inducing.

"Alright you two, half time," Ribar said as she returned with a portion of meat. It wasn't much, it never was. "Aw," Keeva moped as she was in the lead and eager for victory, but her stomach was also eager for food. One aching grumble and she was diving in, Yule hot on her heels, neither knowing who should be counted for the last point. "Hey Ribar?" Keeva asked as she tore off a hunk of meat from the elk's leg. "Can Yule and I try to log sled tomorrow? I figured out a new technique I wanna try."

"Yeah?" Yule asked enthused, "can we, Mom?"

"After what happened last time?" Ribar asked eyeing the pups whose ears started to lower in resignation. "I'll have to supervise. Maybe you two could teach this old wolf some new tricks, hm?" The three of them shared a laugh as they finished their meal.

Later that night, Yule and Keeva curled up into Ribar's side, Keeva couldn't quite help nuzzling into the she wolf's cinnamon and crème fur, quite possibly rooting Yule away from his own mother in the process. He didn't seem to mind as he nuzzled up close to her instead, resting his head across her neck in a manner that made his breath fan out against her ear. It wasn't exactly like being curled up with her mother and sister, mostly because Yule was a male, and definitely not her sister, but he was a comfort in his own right. And pressed between the two of them, it was easy to find sleep.

Keeva was woken sometime later by a deep rumbling sound, like thunder, and harsh voices. Trying not to give her consciousness away, she cautiously opened her eyes, looking out from beneath her lashes. The Head Alpha stood at the den's entry, flanked by two of his sons, all muscled and strong, and presently looking for a fight.

"Just hand the female over, Ribar, and no harm will come to you and yours."

"Somehow, Luca, I have trouble believing that. She is Xena's cub, and anything pertaining to her, should be taken up with her mother."

"Oh, her mother will be confronted, don't you worry. For now, though, there are prices to be paid, release her to us, now!"

"No!"

Ribar rose to her feet, shaking herself loose of the two pups, effectively jostling the both of them. Yule woke, bleary eyed and confused, and Keeva lifted her head to watch. Her heart was pounding, anxiety constricting her airway. Ribar was getting ready to fight. She was going to fight Luca for her, as if Keeva was her own daughter. She was as frightened as she was moved.

"There is nothing for you here," Ribar seethed, "get out of my home!" Luca growled low in his throat, a frightening sound that sent shivers down the backs of all three Omegas. "I will not have insubordination, Ribar, hand her over. She isn't worth orphaning your son, is she?" Keeva was racked with fear as she turned her head to eye the female. She looked equally as scared, hunkered down low, ears bent back, tail tucked, she was practically half submitted. Keeva didn't blame her, she was surprised at her actually. Omegas didn't refuse Alphas, and if they did, they only ever did it once.

Ribar glanced back at the two of them, amber eyes bright with unshed tears. Her eyes locked first with her son, the only survivor of a litter of seven, and she hoped that he would continue to be strong, and survive without her there to look over him. She hoped he knew how much she loved him, and that she was doing this as much for him as she was Keeva. Poor Keeva, she looked at the little girl, who stared back at her with wide lapis eyes. She did not deserve this, no pup deserved to pay for the sins of their parents. All the little ones could see were the loving eyes of a mother about to give everything for her children. They knew what was about to happen, and it shook them to their very cores. Ribar's eyes tore away from them to look back into the cold, cruel eyes of the Head Alpha, challenging him directly as she did so.

Ribar rose from her hunkered down position, standing tall, and bristling the fur along her neck, back, and shoulders. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting. She gave him no warning growl, no time to prepare, she just lunged for him, tearing into whatever part of him she could reach. As they collided, a great pile of flesh and bone ripping at one another, their fight was carried outside. The last thing the pups saw was Luca's sons lunging at Ribar to pry her away from their father.

The fight could be heard by the pups, loud and violent, as they sat in numbed silence of the happenings around them. All at once, as if realizing how little time they had, Yule was nudging Keeva into action.

"You have to get out of here," he said urgently, directing her back to the far corner of the den. "They'll be after you next." Keeva's thoughts were scrambling as she tried to piece everything together, making her feel rather panicky. "But," she rushed out, "Ribar! Yule-we have to-" She resisted his urging, nearly having to sit down to do so. "we have to..." Help, she wanted to say, but she couldn't force the words out. Because what could they do? Two Omega pups against fully grown Alpha males, they'd be mincemeat. It felt wrong though, to leave Ribar to fight for her, without even trying to help.

"Mom knows what she's doing," Yule assured as though his mother hadn't just rushed the head of the pack. Yule quickly moved around the dark female and began shoveling pebbles away from one corner of the den. Keeva quickly recognized the space as Yule's secret entrance, really, they had both used it more than once to escape the ridicule of their peers. "Mom will keep them busy as long as she can," Yule explained, "but you have to put as much distance in as you can, okay? You have to run far away, across the border, get somewhere safe. Mom and I'll get word to your mom, and she'll come and get you."

"Yule, I'm scared" Keeva whimpered eyeing the escape route, her only chance at freedom, at life. "Me too," Yule admitted, "but you'll be okay. It's a straight shot to the borders from here, but you'll have to go through the fields to reach them. Don't worry, you're fast enough." Keeva nodded as she approached the hole in the wall, she turned to look at him sadly. "Stay safe," she pleaded quietly. "You too."

A pained yelp from outside had Keeva springing into action, squeezing her way through the narrow exit, and stumbling out into the cool night air. She nearly fell down the steep hill, but somehow managed to keep her paws beneath her, and made her quickly into the woods at hill's base. Such cover wouldn't last long, as Yule had said, she'd have to clear the fields to get to safety. She tried not to panic as the trees grew sparser and sparser, taking her coverage away from her a few trees at a time until she found herself frighteningly exposed.

She stopped, she couldn't help but come to a grinding halt as she eyed the wide expanse of open terrain. As if to add insult to injury, a powerful chorus of howls filled the air. Keeva whimpered fearfully, they were on her trail now, she didn't have the time to second guess Yule's plan now, all she could do was pray her head start was enough to see her through and run.

The grass was tall, brushing up against her belly sides as she ran, more than once she had to fight off the urge to hunker down and hide in it, and pray that Luca and his sons wouldn't find her. It was a ridiculous notion, they were fine Alphas, they'd and find her in a second out here. Instead, she kept her eyes forward, on the trees that would provide her coverage, and the border that would promise safety. Luca couldn't cross it, she knew, it would brake pack law, and the peace among the territories was already strained for reasons unknown to her. He wouldn't cross, he couldn't.

They entered the field with her three hundred yards away from the border. They were already barking their victory. Keeva's heart jumped to her throat as she tried to resist looking behind her. They were covering ground fast, and she was greatly disturbed at how quickly the distance between her and them was disappearing.

Two hundred yards and she could hear Luca's cruel laughter, smell the blood on the wind, Ribar's blood.

One hundred yards, she couldn't keep this up much longer. Her heart was going to explode, her lungs were going to collapse, her paws and legs were heavy, like lead, she wouldn't be able to support herself much longer.

"You won't escape me, pup!"

Fifty yards, she could feel Luca's breath on her flank, his teeth missing her tail by mere hairs. No, no, no! Come on! She pushed herself hard, harder than she ever had before. Her vision was spotting, head swimming. She had to make it! She yelped as one of Luca's boys snapped at her heels, tears of desperation streaming down her face. So close, Luca lunged for her, looking to end her in one quick strike. Seeing him coming for her, she leapt, covering the mere feet left between her and the border rolling on the grass across the proverbial line. Adrenaline still flowing, she managed to stagger back to her paws and sprint for the trees, not slowing for a second.

Luca's furious howl sang through the air making her fur stand on end. She looked behind her with wide eyes to make sure he wasn't following her, but missed the sudden steep incline of a hidden hill. She yelped as she fell, the world spinning around her in blues and blacks. She laid on her side at the bottom, still and in pain, and so, so tired. She couldn't move, not even when she heard a chorus of barks raising an alarm, not when she saw the glow of fire in the night, or felt the hand of a two-legger against the fur of her side. All she could do was let out a pleading whine, before she fell into oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

A gentle hand stirred Keeva in the morning, her tail thumped against the earth in a pleased wag. She slowly pried her eyes open to see the sweet face of her master's mate, Nadia, smiling down at her. Keeva, as she did every morning, leaned up and licked the woman's face. The woman laughed, tucking a long strand of raven hair behind her ear as she rose to check on her son. Keeva stood too, taking a moment to stretch and shake the sleepy feeling from her limbs. She glanced over her shoulder at Nadia, finding her nuzzling her baby as he tried to wake himself up, Keeva smiled and made her way outside.

It was a different world outside the teepee. The men gathered around the fire to talk about the day's hunt, women set about cooking meat and tending to the children, and other domesticated wolves set about their daily goings on. Some stayed close to the men, obviously chosen to assist on the hunt, others patrolled the perimeter, and some, like Keeva, stayed close to the teepees. The smells were overwhelming at first sniff. Smoke and sweat, leather and cooking meat, and...wet dog? Keeva turned her head to find Nano making his way back into camp, sopping wet. She shook her head with a smile, just another day in paradise.

Keeva sometimes still found it hard to believe that she had actually allowed herself to integrate with the two-leggers. Well, at least she could take pride in knowing she didn't tame easily. Besides, it wasn't all that bad, hell she ate better here than she ever did in her own pack! Plus, everyone liked her, all of the humans fawned over her, and she was friends with most of the other wolves too. More than anything though, Keeva had a purpose here. She wasn't a waste of space, or useless Omega, or an Alpha's chew toy. Here she was a protector, not the one in need of protecting, and the up in rank made her heart swell with pride.

Nadia emerged from the teepee, drawing Keeva out of her thoughts. The woman motioned her husband, Runar, over from the fire pit. As he neared Nadia placed baby Roshan on the ground, steadying him. Runar knelt down and beckoned his son to him with open arms and an encouraging smile. Keeva grinned to as the little boy tried to take his first steps, shaking terribly on brittle human legs. He only made it two or three tiny steps, before he was falling forward. Runar's hands were there to catch him, before he could hit the ground, his father drawing him up into an embrace as he rose back to his full height. Nadia approached to take Roshan back from him, but not before embracing her husband.

The little family made their way back into the teepee for a small breakfast, Runar pausing briefly to ruff Keeva's head. Smiling softly, Keeva stood to enter the teepee, but stopped short when the wind carried an unfamiliar scent to her. Musk and sweat, and meat, and something distinctly male had her wrinkling her muzzle in disgust. More importantly however, Keeva knew that such a scent belonged to a predator, she turned her head to eye the surrounding wood, sniffing carefully. Definitely not a fellow wolf, there was a distinct marker between canines that couldn't be explained, but could definitely be scented. Because of this, Keeva allowed her hackles to rise and her teeth to flash in an aggressive display. She would need to speak to Feral about this. Later though, Nadia was calling.

The day passed like many others before it. Nadia left Roshan with Keeva while she tended to her daily chores, the men went out to track game, and the wolves set about guarding the remaining members of the tribe. In the evening as the sun dipped low behind the trees and her humans went about preparing Roshan for bed, Keeva left her post to seek out Feral. She found the large stony grey wolf with his mate, Uma, near the still roaring fire. "Feral," she greeted quietly, "can I speak to you for a moment?" She knew that Uma would probably want to know this, being as she was the protector of another human family, but Uma was also heavily pregnant and had proven to be quite emotionally unpredictable. Keeva thought it best to leave it to Feral when and how the little brown female was informed.

Excusing himself from Uma, Feral led Keeva off near the trees to speak privately. "I don't mean to worry you," she began, that old Omega anxiety creeping in as it always did when she was left alone with her fellow wolf. "But I caught a strange scent earlier today, a predator for sure, but not a wolf." The aging male nodded with a quiet hum. "The men hunted down a saber pack two days ago, I'd be willing to bet it's the remaining members looking for a little retribution." Keeva's ears perked forward in keen interest. Sabers? She'd never seen one herself, but she'd heard many stories from the wolves who had. "What will we do then?" she asked a tad worried, she had a baby to look after, after all. "Return to your humans," Feral instructed calmly, "I will put the scouts on high alert. There's no need to worry just yet."

Keeva did as she was told, returning to her family, after a brief stop to check on Uma's condition and wish her goodnight. She curled up next to Roshan's basket, said infant already deep in slumber, and quickly fell asleep herself.

The next day would not be like the ones before it.

The sun had just barely peeked over the horizon, displaying shades of pretty pink and purple light over the human settlement, but it was not a peaceful dawn. Keeva woke with a start to the sounds of fighting, snarling and snapping jaws, pained cries from her fellow wolves. Keeva was transported back to another time, to another fight, where an Omega gave her life for Keeva's. The dark she-wolf's eyes were wide and haunted by the terrors of her childhood, her body trembled in anticipation of jaws closing around her throat, of her breathing being cut off, and her life ebbing away prematurely.

Suddenly, Nadia entered the teepee, tearing Keeva out of her own mind. The woman pulled her wailing son up into her arms and cast a worried glance to Keeva, who returned it, but stood before them protectively nonetheless. No sooner did she put herself between her humans and the entrance did another animal enter the teepee with them. Keeva was pretty sure she stopped breathing, she knew her eyes were on the verge of falling out of her head. It wasn't a dog fight out there, the wolves weren't fighting amongst each other, they were fighting off sabers.

A saber was in the teepee. He was tall and lean, and big, but above all else, he was poised to kill. Not giving herself enough time to think about it, or regret her decision, she lunged at the tawny male. To her eternal surprise, she managed to knock him off of his paws, and out of the teepee, giving Nadia enough time to flee with little Roshan.

"Get off of me!" the saber snarled kicking her in the guts, and send her toppling over his head. Keeva snarled at him, but she wasn't fool enough to think herself stronger than a saber. Seeing how much bulkier he was than her, she knew she could outrun him. So, she turned tail and ran, easily picking out Nadia's scent and following it out of camp. What is she doing? Keeva thought worriedly, she's heading straight for the falls! She felt the saber come too close to her flank and whipped around to snap her teeth at him, missing his nose by mere inches and forcing him to draw back a bit. Great, Nadia's cornering herself at the falls and I'm leading a saber right to her. Keeva picked up her pace a bit, as long as she was the first one to Nadia, everything would be fine. Hopefully.

The terrain shifted from soft earth to rock and the roar of the waterfall was thunderous as she approached. Nadia was there at the cliff's edge, peering about worriedly, looking for a safe way down. Seeing the woman and the baby were safe, or as safe as they could be at the moment, Keeva turned full circle and lunged at the saber again. She was going to buy Nadia and Roshan as much time as she could, even if...even if it killed her.

Shoving Ribar's memory away, she snapped at the saber's throat mid-lunge. She missed, but managed to drag her claws over his shoulders harshly, earning a pained roar from the mighty tiger. Keeva didn't have time to dodge his attack as her paws hit the ground again. His paw came down on her, knocking her clean off her feet, it was terrifying to feel of his claws in her sides, digging through fur and skin, and leaving an angry wound on her side. She yowled in pain as she rolled across the rock, nearly tipping over the cliff's edge.

Panting harshly, Keeva looked desperately over to Nadia, who was now trapped between the tiger and the falls. Keeva grunted as she tried to force herself back up, whimpering as the movement aggravated her now bleeding wound. Nadia's eyes shifted down to look at her son, she adjusted her hold on him, and then looked up at Keeva. The moment Nadia's dark eyes connected with hers, Keeva knew, she knew that Nadia was about to do exactly the same thing Ribar had done. She had that same look in her eyes that Ribar had, the look of a mother about to do everything she could to protect her child. Keeva was moving before she was really conscious of it, moving toward Nadia as fast as she could, but it was too late.

Nadia, clutching her tiny baby close to her, launched herself over the falls.

"No!"

One word cried in unison, but carrying two separate undertones. One of loss and one of utter frustration. "This is all your fault!" Keeva half cried angry and be grieved. She lunged, but not at him, she lunged for the hidden trail that led down the falls. Tears were in her eyes as she made her way down the steep incline of rock, knocking pebbles loose and nearly falling several times in her haste to make it down to the river below.

"Nadia!" Keeva cried as she leapt onto even ground, "Nadia!" The wolf made a beeline for the riverbed, praying that by some miracle, woman and baby made it out alive. Her steps were staggering and her vision a little spotty, and she was choosing to ignore that wet sticky feeling in her fur. She had to make sure her people were okay first, once she saw to that, she'd worry about the severity of her injury. As she approached the river, two mammals were there to greet her. A large and imposing mammoth, and an odd smelling sloth. That wasn't what drew her attention, what pulled her up short was the fact that the sloth was holding Roshan!

"Roshan!" Keeva barked, relief flooding over her. Both mammals looked her way as she approached. The sloth looked at her with fear, clutching the baby closer to him protectively, but Keeva knew getting Roshan from him wouldn't be a hard feat. The mammoth on the other hand...Keeva eyed him warily as he took an intimidating step forward, half shielding the sloth and the baby. "Please, I won't hurt him," Keeva started uncertain on how to appeal to the larger animal. "I travel with his herd, I just want to take him home, to his father."

"And we're expected to take the word of a wolf?" the mammoth asked coldly, making Keeva tuck her tail submissively. "Please, sabers attacked our settlement this morning, Roshan's mother fled with him, but a tiger pursued her and...and I couldn't protect her." The realization of her failure hit her hard. It was her job to protect her people and she couldn't do it. That saber took her down with one strike. How could she be so weak? "The tiger took me down...Nadia jumped, because it was all she could do." Fresh water built up in her eyes and she blinked hard to clear it.

"Please," Keeva met his eyes, "just let me take him home. He needs his father."

"Sure, we'll help you get him home."

Keeva's attention turned to the sloth as he stepped out of hiding, approaching her with absolutely no hesitation. Roshan gave a delighted little coo when he caught sight of her and she nuzzled him affectionately when the sloth brought him close enough. "Hey, hey, Manny, where you goin'?" the sloth asked and Keeva turned her head to see the mammoth, Manny, walking away from them. "Away," he said plainly. "What?" Sid yawped, "but-but, we just saved him! We can't just leave him here!"

"Give him to the pet," Manny motioned to her with his trunk and she bristled despite herself. Sid glanced at her, but not with suspicion, she seemed nice and really worried about the infant. "But she's hurt!" Sid pointed out, by literally pointing to her injured side, which Keeva had to admit, was really starting to bother her. "What if she can't make it on her own?"

"Not my problem," the mammoth replied indifferently. The sloth looked frustrated and ready to let the mammoth know it, but Keeva cut across him. "I'll manage," she assured him kindly, "our settlement is just up the hill. We'll be fine."

"Nuh uh! Manny's being an insensitive jerk, but I'll help!" the sloth informed. "I'm Sid by the way, Sid the sloth!" Keeva smiled, she liked this guy, he was kind of weird, but also really nice. "I'm Keeva," she replied kindly, "and that's Roshan." She motioned to the baby with her muzzle. "Thanks for helping."

"Hey, no problem!" Sid said as he turned and started walking toward the hill Keeva had indicated. "We don't need that meanie-weanie mammoth do we?" he cooed at Roshan. Keeva eyed the rock face wearily. There were plenty of footholds, but with an injured side and a baby to carry? She doubted she could make it all that way. "So, how do you want to...?" Keeva trailed off as she looked back at Sid who was already trying to pull himself up the wall with one hand. "Uh," she tilted her head a little as he smacked his own against the rock near his feet, "Sid?"

"You're an embarrassment to nature, you know that?" Manny said from behind Keeva, making her jump in fright. She thought he had left. "Sid, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Sid called back. "I'm gonna die," he fretted to himself. "What was that?" Keeva asked having picked up his voice, but was unable to pick out his words. "Nothing!" Sid reassured hurriedly, "nothing!" Nervous and not quite believing him, Keeva edged closer to the rock face, craning her neck up to watch Sid's ascent. That's when she saw something truly worrying. Roshan was slipping from his bundle. "Sid!" she barked panicking. "Manny!" Sid cried out, also on the edge of hysteria. Manny raised his trunk to catch Roshan as he fell, only to have him snatched away seconds before he could catch him. The three of them turned their heads to find Roshan hanging from the jaws of a tiger.


	3. Chapter 3

Manny was the first react, raising his trunk and swatting at the cat, forcing him to drop the child into the safety of his trunk. The saber snarled furiously at the mammoth, and Keeva growled at him from deep within herself. The she-wolf may not have been in pique condition, far from it actually, but that wasn't going to stop her from fighting tooth and nail to protect Roshan. She studied her new adversary, taking note of his tawny fur and hazel green eyes, she wondered if all sabers looked that way. He was the first she'd encountered after all, but then her eyes roamed across his shoulder and the long claw marks left there. He wasn't just any saber; he was the saber that attacked Nadia.

"Ahem, that pink thing is mine." The saber indicated to the infant wrapped securely in Manny's trunk. "Liar!" Keeva barked, "you attacked our camp this morning!"

"Those were just orders, pet," he lied smoothly, "I didn't want to do it." Keeva scoffed, not believing him, she'd seen the look in his eyes when he broke into their teepee, you couldn't fake a look like that. "I was just going to return him to his herd." Keeva started to snap back when Sid, who had finally managed to work his way down the cliff side, spoke up. "Yeah, nice try, bucktooth."

"You callin' mea liar?" The saber snarled getting right in Sid's face. Keeva jumped to his defense, snapping her teeth in the cat's face. "If the shoe fits, tiger." He glared at her a moment, eyes as hard as jade stones, before promptly turning his attention to Manny. "The name's Diego, friend."

"Manfred, and I'm not your friend." The small smile that Diego had worked up faded. "Fine, Manfred, if you're looking for the humans you're wasting your time. They left this morning."

They left without us? Keeva wondered sadly, Runar probably thinks we're dead then. "I think I'd like to see that for myself. You haven't proven yourself very trustworthy, friend." Sid picked up Roshan from where Manny had lowered him to the ground at Keeva's paws. "You're wasting your time," Diego insisted, but Keeva was already leading Sid to another way up the hill. "Thanks for the advice," Manny said, "now beat it." The mammoth's lumbering footsteps coming up alongside her made Keeva look up at him inquiringly, letting Manny see for the first time how much she was struggling. "I'll help you get back to your herd," he said, before glaring at Sid, "but you have to promise to leave me alone after that."

"Alright! Okay!" Sid exasperated, "geez, what's your problem?"

"Right now? You are."

Keeva smiled to herself as the two mammals bickered, pulling ahead of them by half a stride to sniff out the trail she'd come down. "It's a bit steep, and a little crumbly, so watch your step."

"Uh..."

"What are you doing?"

"Just throw him over the ledge."

"Don't you dare throw him!"

Alright, alright! Hold on, sheesh!"

Sid craned up on the tips of his toes, trying to ease the baby up over the edge. Keeva couldn't believe she had been in such a rush she had just vaulted over it. Normally a height like that would have given her pause, but she had been so worried about Nadia...

"Hey Keeva, can I stand on your shoulders?"

"What? No!"

"Aw, come on, just to get the kid up there?"

"Ugh, fine, but mind the injury would you?"

"Sure, no problem!"

Keeva positioned herself before the rock wall, turning sideways, and motioned him up with her muzzle. Sid moved Roshan into his other arm, using his now free hand to grip Keeva's head fur. The female whimpered slightly when he pulled the longer strands of fur. "Careful!" she snapped. "Sorry!" One of his feet came to rest between her shoulder blades and she groaned at the added weight. "You're heavier than you look, Sid." Her snicker turned into a anguished howl as his other foot pressed into her wounded side. "Ow, ow, ow! Ow!" The pain sent her sprawling to the ground, but somehow Sid had managed to get the baby over the ledge before she collapsed. "Get off of her, you Moron!" Manny thundered as Sid fell once more onto Keeva's side, this time tears mixed with her cries. How had she ignored this as long as she had?

Manny lifted Sid and hurled him over the ledge with the baby, but Keeva was in so much pain, she barely heard his exclamation of "don't spear me!" hollered at the top of his lungs. "Are you gonna be alright?" Manny asked and Keeva nodded weakly, breathing hard through the pain, but already trying to find her paws again. "I'll be fine," she panted, "help me up?" Manfred lifted her careful with his trunk and placed over the ledge, before stepping over it himself.

Unable to ignore it any longer, Keeva stretched on her side and turned to get a look at her side. Yikes...The tiger had gotten her better than she had first thought. Her dark fur, which was normally the color of smoke and ash, was stained very dark with her own blood. Two deep slashes raced up her left side, continually weeping red. Her ears folded back in dismay. Ignoring the conversation being had by Manny and Sid, Keeva leaned over and started running her tongue over her mangled flesh. She resisted the urge to pull back immediately at the sharp pain that was flared to life by her tongue and the copper and iron taste of her blood. The injury wasn't fatal, she knew, but it was painful, and it was important that she stayed the bleeding.

"I told you they were gone," Diego's voice rang in her ears, urging the she-wolf to turn her head. The saber was standing over Roshan's bed, but the baby was safely out of reach at Manny's feet. Done nursing herself for the time being, Keeva approached the three males as Manny lifted Roshan up, over Diego's head, and into Sid's arms. "There's your little bundle of joy. We're taking him back to his heard." Manny paused briefly when he saw her approach, "can you travel?" Keeva nodded, "it looks worse than it is. I'll be fine."

"Good, because we're leaving now. Hey, Uber tracker, get up here where I can keep an eye on you." As Keeva loped to the back to walk with Sid, Diego brushed by her, both predators meeting eyes in a silent challenge. "You won't always be able to protect him, you know." Keeva tipped her head innocently, but her smile was anything but. "You haven't gotten your paws on him yet, have you?" Her tone shifted from sweetness to a rumbling growl. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to, tiger. Make a move toward him again, and I'll rip your throat out."

"Tough talk from a pet," Diego purred, "if I were you, I'd stay out of my way. Unless you'd like a matching set." Keeva could practically feel her wounds throb in response to his threat and scowled. "I could say the same to you," she said and Diego scoffed. "These are nothing. I expected a better fight from a wolf, but then again you're not a real wolf are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Diego!" They both looked at Manny, then back at each other. She wanted to smack the smirk off of his face. Figure it out," he said and passed her to lead the way. Keeva bristled, lips parting to show off sharp canines, but she made no effort to go after him. Huffing, she turned and went to Sid's side, reaching over and nuzzling the baby once she was within reach.

"That saber's a real jerk," Sid said as the she-wolf fell into step with him. "Tell me about it," Keeva grumbled. "So, uh, what made you want to live with humans?" Sid asked and Keeva knew perfectly well that the question was one of innocent curiosity, but she was greatly disturbed by it nonetheless. "I don't like to talk about it," she said quietly, shoving the memory of Luca invading Ribar's den to the far reaches of her mind.

"Oh."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday though," she said after hearing his dejected tone. "Just not today."

"Okay," Sid smiled and trudged on, turning his attention to Roshan as he started to fuss a bit.

It wasn't long before fussing turned to whimpering.

Crying.

Wailing.

Keeva walked with her ears pinned back in discontent, living among humans gave her a high tolerance for fussy children, but Roshan had been at it for so long the sound of it was like nails dragging across her brain. She ground her teeth in utter frustration, picking up her pace from where she had fallen a step behind Sid, so she could try and gauge what was wrong with the tyke.

"Just make it stop!" Manny groaned also at his wits end. "I can't take it anymore!

"I've eaten things that didn't complain as much!"

"Yeah, I'll bet!" Keeva growled forcing herself between him and Sid. "He won't stop squirming!" the sloth protested. "You're holding him wrong!" Keeva snapped testier than usual. "Watch his head!"

"Just put him down!"

Sid started muttering under his breath about their nagging as he placed the infant on a flat rock. "It's nose is dry," Diego observed, "that means something's wrong with it," Sid said. "Human noses are supposed to be dry guys," Keeva said as she sniffed at the baby. "Someone should lick it," Diego argued, "just in case."

"There's no need to-"

"I'll do it," Sid cut the she-wolf off and stuck out his tongue. "Hey, he's wearing one of those baby thingies," Manny observed making Sid pause.

"So?"

"So if he poops where does it go?"

Sid sucked his tongue back in, Diego looked mildly disturbed, and Keeva snickered at them both. "Humans are disgusting," Sis declared adamantly. "One of you might need to check that baby thingie, little ones get real fussy when they get too full."

"Okay you," Manny said poking Sid with his trunk, "check for poop."

"Hey, why am I the poop checker?" Sid protested. "Opposable thumbs, dude," Keeva smiled unashamed of her amusement of the situation. "That and because returning the runt was your idea, and because you small and insignificant, and because I'll pummel you if you don't!" The mammoth loomed dangerously over the sloth's face, and all humor vanished from Keeva's expression.

"You're insignificant."

"I'll pummel you!"

"Useless Omega!"

"Waste of space!"

"Now, Sid!"

"Leave him alone!" Keeva warned lowly, "god, just leave him alone!" All three of them stared at her, even Roshan paused in his crying to look at her. "Don't just stand there," Keeva barked at Manny, "apologize!" The mammoth continued to stare, it'd been a long time since he'd been around an angry female, especially one with tears in her eyes. Feeling awkward he directed his stare to Sid. "Uh, sorry for yellin' at you."

"Oh, that's okay, Manny," the sloth dismissed as he turned to check the baby's diaper.

Oh, ew! I mean, my goodness!" Sid continued to make sounds of disgust as he removed the diaper, holding it like a live grenade in both hands. Strange, Keeva didn't smell any traces of urine or poop. She tilted her head as Sid went about swinging the thing around making Manny cringe and Diego cry out in anger. "Watch were you're swinging that thing!"

"Oh, look out!"

Keeva watched with wide eyes as the soiled diaper landed directly on Manny's face, who was quick swipe it off, only to realize...

"Hahahahahaha! Just kidding, it's clean!"

Keeva was not surprised at all when Manny hit Sid over the head with his trunk, she couldn't even be mad about it, that trick was just...dirty. Dark ears perked forward when laughter reached them and she looked up to find Roshan laughing at Sid. "Do it again," Diego insisted, "I think he likes it." Manny walloped Sid again and earned more laughter from the baby. "Hey, it's making me feel better too."

Here, you hold it," Sid requested dizzily, offering the baby to Diego, much to Keeva's chagrin. Diego, however, didn't take the baby. Opting instead to hit Sid over the head, much to Roshan's delight. It was then that Roshan decided that he should try and hit Sid, waving his tiny pink hand in the sloth's face. Sid, tired of being hit, caught the infant's hand, prompting him to cry once more.

"I bet he's hungry," Keeva said thinking out loud, and was answered by a rumble from Roshan's stomach. "Well, what do babies eat?"

"How about some milk?"

"Oh, I'd love some!"

"Not you, the baby!"

"I'm not exactly lactating right now, pal."

It was then that Keeva found the males eyeing her again, and she folded her ears back in embarrassment, feeling heat flush her cheeks.

"Don't look at me!" she protested hastily.

The four mammals looked at each other, all scratching their heads in thought of what they could feed the child when, by some miracle, food decided to fall out of the sky for them. Well, out of a nearby bush, and it was a whole watermelon, but still, it was food.

And yet, because the universe seemed to have it out for them for some odd reason, trouble came along in the form of a dodo bird. The featherhead was clucking something about an Ice Age as he took the melon and ran off. All the herd could do was stand in stupefied silence.

"What just happened?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Ugh, these buggers stink," Keeva commented with her nose to the ground, muzzle wrinkling as she tracked the dodo bird across the rocky terrain. Diego had started by looking for tracks, but the ground around them was hard and dry, and left little imprint, especially from a flighty bird. However, his scent had clung to the rocks, and all too eager to one-up the feline, Keeva had darted ahead of him, snuffing the pest out.

Keeva may have been tame, but she wasn't without her instincts. She'd tracked many prey animals for the hunting party before, though she was reluctant to admit she'd never taken any of those animals down...

She shook the thought away and leapt over a boulder in her path, pleased to note that her injury didn't flare with the action. She loped around the bend of the rock, lifting her head as the scent grew steadily stronger and keeping her nose to the ground was no longer a necessity. It wasn't long after that, before she heard chanting. Peering back at her companions, who looked equally confused, Keeva leapt up on to the high wall and eased herself up to peer over the edge. Her eyes widened.

"You guys have got to see this."

Down below was the dodo nesting grounds, as she assumed it would be, but it looked as if there was much more than nesting going on down there. "I don't know what I've been told!"

A heavy chorus of steps and echo of the phrase reached her ears as she watched the birds march across the nesting ground. "The end of the world is mighty cold!" As the phrase was echoed once more, Keeva motioned the rest of the herd to come join her. "Prepare for the Ice Age!" One dodo squawked as Manny and the others reached her. "Protect the dodo way of life!"

"What's the Ice Age?" Sid asked peering around Manny to look down into the rocky valley. "Beats me," Keeva shrugged. "I've heard of these crackpots," Diego growled as Keeva watched the dodo she'd been tracking make his way to what was apparently a stockpile. He put the melon down with the other two present, before turning and suddenly locking eyes with her. Keeva couldn't help but gasp as the bird raised the alarm.

"Intruders!" he screeched, "intruders!"

"Uh oh."

The dodo spiraled into a panic as he ran to warn his comrades, but ended up falling into a mysterious pit. Keeva's silent question was answered when she scented burning flesh.

"Looks like the wolf's out of the bag," Diego taunted as they made their way down into the nesting grounds. Keeva scoffed, "it's not my fault if he took one look at your fanged face and ran."

"Hey, can we have our melon back?" Manny asked the dodos, cutting off whatever Diego had opened his mouth to say next. Keeva rolled her eyes as the dodo began ranting about the Ice Age and being forced underground for a million years or something. She'd never admit it out loud, but Diego was right, these guys were crackpots.

And then all hell broke loose.

The two predators of the herd could do nothing more than watch as melons (and dodos) went rolling off of cliffs and into geysers, and Manny was bitten on the tail, and it was all she could do to keep from covering her eyes with her paws. Because now the last melon rested in Sid's less than capable hands with a field of dodos between him and them.

She couldn't take it.

"I can't watch," she muttered, covering her eyes with a paw, and even hid her face in Diego's shoulder, who was too stunned to push her away. As a result, she missed Sid totally slaying the field (not literally, of course), and emerging victorious. Her head jerked back up as Diego's shoulder jostled her and a loud splat resonated in her ears. "Ah, way to go Sid! Now we've gotta find more food."

"Or maybe not," Keeva said as Roshan started eating the mushed pieces of fruit, staining his face with the juice. It was quiet for a moment, but then a few conscious dodos, perhaps saddling up for a final attack, started stumbling a little too close to the cliff's edge. Keeva watched with keen interest as the tower of flightless birds finally stumbled too far and were hurled off the side of the cliff. "Hey, look at that," Manny said a smirk in his voice, "dinner and a show." Keeva snickered and turned her attention back to Roshan, making sure he didn't choke on any seeds.

Watching the baby eat reminded Keeva of her own hunger, and the fact that she hadn't eaten all day. Her stomach gave a low rumble in protest, much to her embarrassment, and much to Diego's amusement.

"Hungry, pet?" Keeva scowled at him, "I have a name, ya know."

"Don't care, c'mon."

Keeva huffed, but reluctantly followed him. Keeva, while her tracking was good, her fighting was decent (when she wasn't fighting sabers), but she had never taken down anything more than a crazed raccoon that had somehow wandered into camp. So, if this tiger was leading her off with expectations of some kind of tag-team hunt, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

"So, what made you do it?" Diego asked after they had been making their way down the cliff side for a few minutes. "Do what?" Keeva asked directing her attention back to him from where she had been looking at the ground. "You know, run with humans. Why'd you do it?"

"None of your business," she replied coolly. "Excuse me for trying to make conversation," Diego scoffed, much to Keeva's chagrin. "Prying into my past is hardly a conversation starter, next time try starting with an ice breaker like 'how was your day?'"

"Fine. Um..."

"Keeva," the she-wolf supplied rolling her eyes.

"Keeva. How was your day?"

Unbelievable, she thought, he's actually trying this?

"Kinda nuts," she replied, "I'm still not convinced that I'm not dreaming right now. How 'bout you, tiger? Good day?"

"Hardly," he snorted.

No more was said between them as they reached the bottom and found several dodo carcasses lying about. Keeva gave a discreet sigh of relief when Diego told her to dig in. She really didn't want to live through the embarrassing reality of not knowing how to hunt, especially in front of Diego, despite their civil conversation just minutes prior. They were still enemies, he still wanted Roshan for some reason or another, and that meant he couldn't be trusted.

She'd never disclosed her pack life with anyone, especially of a different species, she wondered what it might be like if she did. Would she feel better? Or would she just feel guilty and ashamed? Wolves were very private animals, not many other species knew what the day to day life of a wolf was like, or just how strict their hierarchy was.

Keeva chewed quietly in thought, peering at Diego out of the corner of her eye. Would he get it? He was a pack animal, he had an alpha, (or whatever a tiger leader was called). He could sympathize. He probably wouldn't though, he already thought she was weak for residing with humans. The only creatures who had shown her respect and kindness, and had allowed her to be something more than just an Omega.

And she had failed them, failed Nadia, because of him.

The she-wolf swallowed, her meat ill-tasting as it traversed down her throat. Her appetite lost, she quickly cleaned her maw of any traces of her meal and turned to go. "That's all you're eating?" Diego's voice making her fur stand up along her neck and shoulders. He was the one that killed Nadia, robbed Roshan of his mother, and Runar of his mate. He was the one who messed up her side, he was the whole reason this nightmare was taking place. She wouldn't forget that again. "Yes," she answered stiffly, stride never faltering, "I need to get back to Roshan."

"You know, you're not actually that kid's mother." Keeva flashed her teeth at him over her shoulder "I know. You chased her off a cliff, I'm all Roshan has now, thanks to you. Hurry and finish, we still have a lot of ground to cover." She ignored the sound of Diego's rumbling growl as she made her way back up the mountain. Tears stung at her eyes, but she refused to cry them. Not yet, she couldn't afford to be swept away by her emotions. She had a tiger to keep an eye on, and a baby to return home. After that, she'd allow herself to give into her grievances, to cry and scream and howl out her loss for the world to hear.

She emerged back onto the dodos nesting area to find Sid cleaning the melon stains off of Roshan's face and smiled. "Did he get enough?"

"Oh yeah," Sid said, "practically ate his weight of the stuff."

"Where's the tiger? We need to get moving."

"He'll be along in a moment," Keeva assured, "he's just cleaning up a bit." She didn't miss the shiver that ran down Sid's spine when he caught on to the implication. "Don't let him go to sleep, Sid," Keeva warned as he picked up the yawning infant. "It's too late in the day, and he won't sleep tonight if you let him nap now."

"Okay, got it!" Sid said with a thumbs up, "you sure know a lot about kids, Keeva."

"Yeah well," Keeva said sheepishly, feeling her skin flush with embarrassment beneath her fur, "taking care of the kids was kind of my thing back home."

"you sure took your time," Manny commented as Diego rejoined them. "Let's get going, we're burning daylight."

Nothing of much interest happened for the rest of the day. Diego led and Keeva trailed in the back, several strides behind Sid, and the going was quiet aside from Sid cooing at Roshan. And they continued that way until well after dusk, when Roshan started getting fussy for sleep. The she-wolf couldn't even muster up a "goodnight" as she dropped down to her stomach and fell into a fitful sleep.

~~~

She woke with a start on the forest floor. The night was dark and eerie and the scent of death filled the air. Panicky, she stumbled up to her paws, surprised when she found she could barely hold her own weight. Why was she so weak? What happened? She looked around herself, through the trees, but found herself unable to focus on anything. She whimpered in distress, and pushed herself forward on brittle legs. She barely made it two feet, before she went down again.

A yelp tore from Keeva's throat as she crashed face first into the dirt. She looked behind her to locate the cause of her fall, and nearly screamed when she found herself staring into a pair of lifeless amber eyes.

"Ribar!" she screeched immediately recognizing the cinnamon and crème she-wolf. "Ribar, no!" Her best friend's mother looked terrible, there was blood everywhere. It stained not only Ribar's once beautiful coat, but also the grass around her. It was easy to see her death had not been swift, or merciful. Before she could find a proper way to respond, she got the feeling that she wasn't alone here.

"Time to finally finish what I started," a cold voice mocked cruelly. One that was instantly recognized by Keeva, who spun around in a panic trying to locate the speaker. "I tried to tell her Keeva," he said from somewhere in the surrounding trees. "All she had to do was surrender you to me and this could have all been avoided," a twig snapped and Keeva's ears swiveled toward the sound. "But you Omegas are all the same, thinking you're so much stronger than you actually are, so much braver, and so full of potential." Laughter resonated tauntingly through the air as the speaker made himself visible to her.

A tall and muscled wolf stood before her, his fur was deep brown and off-white, and his eyes were dark and cold. The gleam in them froze Keeva's blood in her veins. "Luca..."

"It's time you knew the truth, pup, before I kill you." Luca stalked forward, making a wide circle around the darker wolf, who was rooted to the spot by fear alone. "You're lying to yourself. No Omega could possibly be strong, not a single one of you."

His circle tightened.

"You're not brave. If you were, you wouldn't tuck your tails and roll over every time we came too close to you."

The circle tightened again, and suddenly the Head Alpha was much too close for Keeva's liking.

"You're not brave are you, Keeva?" she shook her head, honestly trying to keep from peeing on herself. "No? That's good. Fear is smart. It's kept you alive," he laughed a little then, "unlike your dear protector." He kicked Ribar's corpse as he passed it, making Keeva snarl in protest. "Normally, I wouldn't mind that an Omega escaped me, so long as you're not infesting my pack."

He was so close now, close enough for her to reach her muzzle out and bite him if she wanted. Which she didn't.

"Unfortunately, Keeva, you," he chuckled again, the sound almost friendly. "You're the one I couldn't let get away."

He was fast, too fast. With a snarl, he was upon her, claws biting into her shoulders, as he forced her on to her back. Where he took a moment to bask in his victory, before lunging for her throat. She didn't even have time to scream, before his teeth sank into her neck and locked down. The air, and her life, was slowly choked out of her. As her head lolled to the side, nearly lifeless, her eyes locked with Ribar's, and then the world faded out.


	5. Chapter 5

"Keeva..."

The she-wolf groaned.

"Keeva....!"

Someone was shaking her, and part of her really wanted to reach out and bite whoever it was, but it honestly didn't seem like it was worth the effort.

"Keeva!"

The voice hissed right in her ear, forcing her awake with a jolt. She turned to snap at the mammal when she found herself staring back into vivid hazel green eyes.

"Diego...?"

At her bewildered expression, the feline rushed to explain.

"You were having a bad dream, so...uh, I thought I'd wake you."

"Oh..." Keeva's ears folded back in embarrassment, "thank you."

"Uh...yeah, no problem. You should...should probably try and get back to sleep."

"Right," Keeva said with a slow nod, resting her head pack on her paws. "Goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Keeva slipped off to sleep until daybreak.

Manny's thundering voice woke her too soon. Keeva dragged her eyes to peer at him agitatedly, while she tried to decipher his muffled words. Some kind of question, and then...

"You lost it?" Diego's tone was sharp and surprised and had Keeva far more awake than she had been five seconds ago. "Lost what?" She inquired as she forced her paws beneath her and padded over to the bickering duo. "The baby," Diego informed her, already dreading her reaction. Keeva's jaw unhinged, and her lapis irises went wide. "You lost Roshan!" Her tone was sharp and accusing, and Diego was pleased to note, not directed at him. "How could you lose him?" And then her eyes were burning into Diego's. "If you've hurt him I swear I'll-"

"Hey, whoa, easy pet! I haven't touched the little morsel."

"Well, if you didn't, then who...?" Keeva glanced around, looking for some clue to Roshan's disappearance. It hit her and them at the same time.

"Sid!"

"Okay, okay, he can't have gone far. Let's just split up and look around." Keeva said over her panicked heartbeat. "Manny, why don't you head that way," Keeva motioned with her muzzle, "and Diego and I will head that way. He shouldn't be a tough track, if you know what I mean." And on that note, the trio took off in their appointed directions, the promise of strangling the sloth on all of their tongues.

"Aw, man! What stinks?" Keeva whined a few minutes later, her nose was once more to the ground, picking out and sifting through a variety of scents. Luckily enough for her, Sid's scent was rather...unique. "If I had to guess?" Diego said, "probably the sloth." A beat of silence, "you know, we could probably find the kid faster if we split up."

Keeva scoffed, not buying into his scam for a second.

"Nice try, but I'm not letting you out of my sight," the she-wolf gave him the evil eye for good measure, before returning to her scouting. "That's a bit forward, don't you think?" Diego smirked. Keeva glared at him, affronted. "Don't flatter yourself." Nothing more could be said as screaming reached their ears, the sound of it drawing ever closer to their position.

The predators shared a knowing glance.

Sure enough, Sid came barreling around a bend of rock. The only thing that was concerning Keeva at the moment was the fact that the sloth did not have the baby.

"Where's Roshan?" she demanded as Sid hugged her around the neck. Gross. "He's fine, he's with Manny. You guys have got to help me!" Keeva was surprised that his tone could go from nonchalant to completely hysterical in a span of like three seconds. "Alright, chill," Keeva said prying the sloth off of her with a paw. "What's wrong?" She was a lot more willing to help knowing that Roshan was safe.

"They're going to eat me!"

Keeva couldn't ask who he meant before Sid started shouting again.

"Oh, a wolf! Help! Help!" Sid shouted over his shoulder, much to the predators' confusion. "Quick," he said to Keeva, "put me in your mouth." The she-wolf recoiled, disgusted. "What? No!"

"Oh, c'mon, please?" Keeva shook her head. Suddenly there was a flare of pain from her side and she yelped, and equally as suddenly she found a sloth's neck clamped between her teeth.

"Play it cool, pet." Diego advised, "we've got company." Keeva bit back a whimper as the ground rumbled beneath her paws. Two great rhinos came charging around the bend, only to pull up short at the sight before them.

What a sight it must've been.

"D'oh! The wolf got to him first!" Keeva's sigh of relief froze in her throat as his companion stepped forward with a skeptic, "I wouldn't be so sure." It was an odd thing, she realized, having an animal's neck in your teeth, and then have someone encroach on you in such a challenging manner. As his face lowered to hers to sniff at the sloth, Keeva growled low in her throat. She didn't know why, but she did, and her hold on Sid increases just a bit more. The rhino looked surprised at her and backed away. "Yup, he's dead," he confirmed. The two rhinos stomped off, one muttering sullenly about how carnivores got to have all the fun.

"Whew!" Sid heaved a sigh of relief, "that was a close one, thanks Keeva." The she-wolf didn't appear to have heard him as she kept her gaze keenly focused on the bend of rock where the rhinos had disappeared. Her blood was thumping loudly in her ears.

"Uh, Keeva?" Sid said uncertainly, "Keeva you-you can let go now. Keeva?" The she-wolf kept her jaws locked. She'd defended her kill; she had defended it as any Alpha would have. She wasn't weak, she wouldn't be pushed around. She was-

"Keeva, spit that out, you don't know where it's been."

Manny's voice jarred her, bringing her back into reality. Eyes widening, she quickly released the slowly asphyxiating sloth with a rushed apology. "Oh, boy," Sid laughed nervously. "For a second there, I thought you were actually going to kill me...you weren't going to kill me were you?" Keeva didn't answer, in fact, she hurried to put space between her and the sloth by walking alongside Diego.

Keeva kept mostly to herself after that, though no one was showing her any sort of animosity for the act, she felt guilty. She couldn't even work up a grin when Manny made a passing comment about a group of oddly structured stones that she was pretty sure man had nothing to do with. Still, all day was a long time to go without talking to someone, and Sid was clearly having none of it.

The she-wolf gasped as something cold and hard smashed against her uninjured side, she quickly looked down to find white clumps of snow clinging to her dark fur. With an indignant huff, she looked up to see who could've thrown it at her. Really there could only be one culprit, Manny and Diego didn't seem like the type for snow games. Lapis irises narrowed on Sid, who pointed at Roshan, as if the baby could've thrown the snowball at her.

There was a moment, while those pretty blue eyes were narrowed on him, Sid thought she might maul him. Then, her gaze softened up considerable, shifting into a more playful expression, she smirked at him. Using her powerful hind legs, Keeva kicked up snow, all but burying the sloth beneath the cold substance, until he begged for mercy.

"Alright! Alright! I give! Uncle!"

Keeva laughed merrily as she bounded over to him, using a paw to assist in digging him out. "How's that for a girl's throw?" She goaded as Sid dusted himself off. "Haha, very funny, everyone wants to pick on the sloth." Secretly though, he was pleased, he'd hated seeing that guilt ridden expression on her face for the past hour. If anything, he should've felt guilty for putting her, a wolf-a predator, in that position.

"If you two are done," Manny reprimanded from ahead, "we still have a lot of ground to cover."

"Killjoy," Keeva muttered then nuzzled Roshan who was fussing for her attention. Picking him up by the collar of his shirt, she passed him off to Sid, and allowed them to walk a few paces ahead of her. Smiling as the baby waved from over Sid's shoulder.

The antics didn't end there though. The iced over pond was something Keeva could've done without, but the geyser was definitely something to see. She doubted the sloth had ever flown so high in his life. The blizzard that blew over them was another thing she could do without, all of the ice and snow had Keeva's pelt feeling heavy and looking more silver, opposed to its normal smoky color, and she was relieved when she was finally allowed to shake it out.

On the downside, it had blown away every trace of scent and hint of track for miles around, and Keeva was pretty sure they were going in circles when they passed a very specific tree for the third time. Tired, and a little agitated, she made her way to the front of the herd to confront the leader of this little expedition.

"Just admit it, you're lost," Manny was saying as she neared him and Diego. "I am not lost," the saber defended, and Keeva cut across whatever the mammoth had to say. "Yes we are, we've passed that tree three times now."

"Oh yeah? And how do you know that?" Keeva shifted a bit nervously under his and Manny's gazes. Her ears folded back in embarrassment. "Because," she muttered softly, hesitantly, "I peed there."

Their expressions were priceless.

"Don't look at me like that!" Keeva snapped, "I didn't want to make a big deal about it, okay? And besides, you should've been able to smell it, Mr. Uber tracker." Diego wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You should've smelled it and known you'd taken a wrong turn. You're lost."

"She's right, you should ask for directions." Manny said and then pointed somewhere over Keeva's shoulder. "Ask that guy." The she-wolf turned to see a little saber toothed squirrel skittering around in the snow. "I'm not asking for directions," Diego said firmly.

"Fine, I'll do it," Manny said and moved past Keeva to talk to the squirrel, the she-wolf plopped down in the snow beside the tiger. "What is it with you guys and asking for directions?"

"It's a pride thing."

"Anything to save that precious ego of yours," Keeva scoffed.

"Hey, I think he's playing charades!" Sid boasted earning the attention of both predators. "What is it? Okay three words. First word." Keeva watched the little squirrel pick up his nut and place it over his back, almost like the humans did their... "Pack?" She guessed. The squirrel nodded enthusiastically in confirmation and then held up two digits. Second word. "Pack of what?" Sid pondered and then he and Manny began throwing out guesses, thoroughly frustrating the little creature, who through his nut down and began pointing accusingly at Diego. The leaf eaters missed it by miles, but Keeva caught on real quick and glared at the cat viciously.

A pack of sabers.


	6. Chapter 6

Keeva seethed as Diego sent the small rodent flying to save his precious façade. Manny and Sid seemed none the wiser, the mammoth looked mildly confused, but held no more suspicion for the saber than he already had. Sid, Sid wasn't even close to pinning down Diego's ploy, but Keeva sure was. The she-wolf opened her mouth, started to tell Manny, but held off. The mammoth already knew the cat was up to no good, even Sid knew that, they all knew Diego wanted the baby. The question was why. Sabers usually weren't so adamant about a kill, especially not one as small as Roshan was. So, why hadn't Diego moved on to better prey? All of that couldn't be blamed on stubborn male pride alone, could it?

Well...probably.

Even so, why had he not made a move yet? What was he waiting on? He could've stolen Roshan away the night before, and no one in the herd would have been the wiser until morning. And yet, he had not done anything, she wondered if he'd even attempted it. On second thought, she didn't want to know, she'd just make sure he never got another chance again. Besides, she thought as she loped along at the back of the herd once more, what better way to fight off nightmares than to not sleep at all?

They walked for some time, Keeva lost track of exactly how long, but the sun position suggested it was late afternoon. They'd have to set up camp again in a few hours. "Hey, hey guys, can you...can you slow down a little. Please?" Sid had begun to fall far behind, much to Manny's annoyance, who eventually relieved the sloth of the baby, in hopes it would speed up his pace a bit. No such luck.

Knowing Roshan was in Manny's capable trunk, Keeva remained with Sid to make sure he didn't fall too far behind. Easier said than done it would seem. "Hey, Sid?" the sloth glanced at her, panting for breath. "If I lend you a ride, do you promise not to walk over my side again?"

"Yes, yes! Defiitely! Oh, thank you Keeva!"

"Don't mention it," Keeva drawled as she bowed to provide easy access to her back. As soon as his weight was settled and no twinge of pain spoke against the added load, Keeva set off. "Hold on, now," she cautioned and broke off into a sprint. Sid whooped, gripping her headfur to steady him as she covered ground in seconds, seconds that would have taken him several minutes.

The shadowy she-wolf eased off into a trot, then a lope, and a walk respectively as they approached the remaining two members of the group. Sid slid off of her back as she stopped at Manny's side. "What's going on?"

"The tiger found a shortcut," Manny explained briefly. Keeva surveyed the cave with sceptic eyes. "through there?" She asked, "and you believe him?"

"Look, I know you don't like the guy, but the sooner we get to the humans, the sooner you and the baby can get back to your domesticated little fairytale, alright?" Keeva snarled under her breath, thoroughly offended, but offered a curt nod.

"No thanks, I choose life," Sid finished, clearly having his own doubts about the validity of the tiger's word. "Then I suggest you take the shortcut," Diego growled warningly. "Are you threatening me?" Sid asked suspiciously. "Move sloth!"

Keeva opened her mouth to tell Diego to leave the weakest member of their herd alone, but was cut off by a deep rumbling that shook the earth. "Way to go, tiger!" She snapped fiercely as she bolted for the cave, knowing it'd be the only safe place from the oncoming avalanche. Manny, Diego, and Sid all followed in after her, Roshan held safely within Manny's trunk. Keeva's relieved grin died with a soft chiming noise. Glancing up, she saw sharpened icy stalagmites wavering dangerously in place. Everyone moved as far out of their path as they could, waiting with baited breath for whatever may happen next.

The stalagmites stilled.

Exhaling, the herd moved into its usual formation and began working their way through the cavern. "Stick close," Diego advised, "it's easy to get lost in here."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Keeva muttered as she looked at the strange things encased in the icy walls. Roshan babbled and cooed at them, reaching out to touch them with chubby little hands. A sudden thwack pulled Keeva's attention away from the baby and onto a now unconscious Sid. She lifted her head to alert the other two, but Manny's tail was already disappearing around a bend of ice.

Keeva was anxious, not wanting to be apart from Roshan longer than what was necessary, but she wasn't about to leave Sid behind either. Resigned to the fact that she couldn't trust herself with him in her jaws, she sat and she waited for him to come around, hoping it wouldn't take very long.

It took a while.

So long, that Keeva allowed herself to slump into a sit, mind wandering a million miles away. She really didn't do well with alone time, or more to the point, her mental state didn't do well. Too much time to peer back into old memories, more unpleasant than not. Unwillingly, she was pulled into the previous night's nightmare. They weren't uncommon dreams, the ones were Luca eventually caught up with her and finished what he'd started, but the terror was new and fresh every time.

She let out a whimper before she could think better of it, and was relieved her only present company wasn't conscious to hear her whining like a young pup.

You're lying to yourself, no Omega could be possibly be strong, not a single one of you.

She didn't want to think him right, but the twinging of her side was testament enough to her own failure of strength. If she couldn't fight one saber to protect her family, then clearly she did not deserve to call herself strong, or a protector of any kind.

You're not brave.

How many times had she flinched away from Diego, or Manny, since she'd met them? Heck, she'd spent the better part of the day dodging the eyes of the sloth. What kind of wolf would refuse to meet eyes with anyone? Let alone someone so low on the food chain. Certainly not any self-respecting Alpha.

You're not an Alpha, a little voice hissed in her ears, it doesn't matter what the humans think of you. You are an Omega! Submissive. Weak. Pathetic.

"No!" Keeva snarled hauling herself to her feet and pacing in quick circles. Her exclamation seemed to do the trick in waking Sid from whatever had put him under. "Keeva?" he questioned sluggishly, slowly pushing himself up. The she-wolf was having none of it now though, too high strung from her self-destructive thoughts. "Finally," she snapped coolly, "hurry up, the others have a good lead on us now, thanks to your little siesta." The sloth blinked slowly, unused to the wolf's uncharacteristic display of hostility. For a moment he just watched her walk toward one of the caverns, no doubt scenting the others out.

"Now, Sid!"

He didn't need to be told twice.


	7. Chapter 7

"Will you keep up, please?" Manny said impatiently upon their return. "It's hard enough to keep track of one baby." Keeva snarled at him as she passed to walk beside Diego. The tiger's cold shoulder was what she really needed now, it'd give her a chance to reorganize her thoughts and pull herself back together.

It wasn't destined to be though, as suddenly Roshan was sliding past her and away from the group.

"Roshan!" she yelped, the panic jumpstarting her as she raced after him...

And then she was flying.

Then screaming.

Her breath was frozen in her throat as she looked for something that would slow her momentum, but there was nothing around her but slick cavern walls. Desperately, she looked over her shoulder, hoping she wasn't about to smash into anything full force. Her jaw dropped in horror as she saw the tunnel open into dead air, her body vaulting into it moments later.

She screamed on the way down too.

Not wanting to land on her back, she managed to twist around mid-air, but instead of hard ice, she landed on Manny's back. Followed closely by Sid, who landed in front of her, and then Diego, who landed on his flank. The tiger dug his claws into his tough hide for purchase.

"Captain, ice berg ahead!" Sid's sudden exclamation had her attention snapping forward, eyes widening at the sight of the hooked curve of ice. Their screams died as their momentum slowed until they eventually slid to a stop. Keeva relished in the stillness as she heaved for breath, only to have it hitch when she heard a soft crack and groan of the ice beneath them. Her body already tensing in preparation.

"Oh, no."

With an earsplitting crack they were falling, and screaming, again. Separating from Manny, each individual landed on a different icy slide, and suddenly Roshan was directly in her line of sight. Her heart soared, she'd been twisted and turned so many times she'd lost track of the boy.

He was still sliding away from her though.

Filled with determination, Keeva leaned her body forward until she was nearly laying across the ice, the new position allowing her to move at a faster pace. The others caught onto the same thought seconds later and she was suddenly in a race with Manny and Diego to reach little Roshan. Keeva's smaller body keeping her just ahead of them, and Sid remained in front of her using his hands to scoot him closer to the giggling baby.

About the time the sloth actually managed to get his hands on the baby he was sent flying over a hill, losing his hold on Roshan in his shock, and the baby went sailing high overhead. Keeva's heart jumped to her throat, bt there was nothing she could do as she too was sent flying over the hill.

"Manny!" She barked looking over her shoulder to see the mammoth already raising his trunk to catch the child. Relieved Keeva turned back to face the front, only to have her eyes widened in shock as she was sent smashing into a wall. Her body hit it with such a force that she was actually sent through it and toppling into Sid, who had met the same fate. "Sorry," she mumbled reflexively as she lifted herself off of the sloth. Only to have another body slam into her when Diego came crashing in.

Keeva yelped sharply as he crashed into her injured side, sending shockwaves of pain coursing through her body as she hit the ground. That was an odd feeling, being sandwiched between the snow and Diego's body, in fact it was kind of weird.

"Ugh, get off," she groaned when Diego continued to lay there staring at her stupidly. At least in her opinion. "Right. Sorry." The saber got off of her, but again she was unable to remain on her feet for more than a few seconds before someone else came smashing through the wall.

Being mowed down by a mammoth at top speed was a whole different kind of hurt.

Keeva pulled her head out of the snow with a groan and a tired huff. Giving a light shake of her head to rid the snow from the top of her head, she couldn't help but glare at Manny reproachfully. He seemed too tired to care though as he clutched a giggling Roshan securely in his trunk. Sid teetered dizzily at her side, muttering nonsense as he tried to sort himself out. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about the tiger when he suddenly popped up out of the snow like a daisy.

"Woo! Alright, who's ready for round two?" Diego inquired excitedly, punching his paw through the air, only to falter as everyone stared at him as if he'd lost his marbles. "I-I mean, uh...t-tell the kid to be more careful."

Keeva shook her head again, but this time in mild amusement, rather than annoyance. She might've laughed were she not so tired, and her mood not so dampened, but as it were she really didn't want to be bothered with anyone's antics at the moment. She pulled herself to stand, shaking out the rest of the snow from her fur, doing her best to ignore her side's twinge of protest at her movement.

"Mm!" Keeva was unable to fight off a light groan of pain, but managed to keep it discreet as she turned to face the tiger. "Which way?"

And just like that, they were moving again, back in their regular formation. Sid managed not to knock himself out again, and it wasn't long until caverns of ice became caverns of rock. Moving further in, cave drawings began to decorate the walls, man-made drawings. A flare of hope swelled in Keeva's chest, maybe Diego knew what he was doing after all.

"Oh, look!" Sid cried excitedly pointing out a picture on the wall. Keeva looked over, letting her eyes roam over the hunting scene with mild interest. Roshan whimpered as he looked at the image of sabers taking down a herd of antelope, but Sid was quick to reassure him. "Oh, don't worry, don't worry. The tigers are just playing tag with the antelope...with their teeth." Diego chuckled as he walked up alongside the sloth and baby, making Keeva tense. "Yeah, Sid, let's play tag," he purred. "You're it."

"Ah-heh," Sid chucked uncertainly, "very funny Diego."

"No witty comebacks, pet? Cat got your tongue?"

Keeva glowered up at the saber, who recoiled in shock. Not from the indignant glare that had come to be expected from her, but from the unfathomable sadness shining in her eyes. The poor girl looked positively tormented. When he didn't say anything, just stared with wide eyes and a dropped jaw, Keeva lowered her gaze back down to the cavern floor.

"Hey, Manny, look! Mammoths!"

"Oh, somebody pinch me," Manny drawled sarcastically as he started to pass the sloth by. "Aw! And look, he has a family!" Keeva, eyes still on the floor, found herself suddenly bumping into the mammoth when he stopped suddenly. The dark she-wolf peered up at him, first with agitation, and then with almost morbid realization. Manny's eyes were haunted, and she could tell that his mind was taking him far away, to someplace deep within that he'd rather not revisit.

Keeva stepped aside as the mammoth moved to look at the drawing as Sid continued to ramble, oblivious to Manfred's pain. Keeva eyed the pictures too, ears folding back in dismay at the scene depicted before her. A mammoth, his mate, and his calf, all being hunted by man. The bull, Manny, she'd have to guess, because why else would he be looking so brokenhearted? He was the only survivor, forced to watch his child die by man's spear, and his mate, cornered and desperate, have heavy stones dropped upon her. The wolf felt her eyes sting with tears, heart going out to the usually stoic mammoth at her side.

Without even thinking about it, Keeva leaned over and nuzzled Manny's leg as if it would offer him comfort, and she hoped it would. His head snapped down, dark brown eyes meeting lapis blue. For a moment, all he could do was stare wonderingly down at her, but then he saw it. The same way Diego had seen it, the tormented look in her eyes, the shadows of pain, and of grief. She'd known loss, loss of someone very dear to her. She was trying to convey comfort through understanding.

The mammoth had to look away from such open eyes, from all of her raw emotion. He couldn't take it. He scooped up Roshan in his trunk, before looking back at the wolf, still staring with a too emotional expression, but he met those eyes long enough to give her a nod. It wasn't curt, it was meaningful, and Keeva caught the message loud and clear.

Thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

Keeva was never more relieved to be outside of that cave. She relished in the open air, no matter how cold, and the wide expanse of space around her. Per usual, everyone was walking ahead of her as they made their way toward a now visible Half Peak. Beyond that was Glacier Pass, beyond that was Runar and the human pack. Oddly, the thought of returning to the humans was a sad one for the she-wolf. Though she couldn't exactly put a paw on why, maybe it was because she wouldn't see the guys every day.

"My feet are sweating," Sid announced.

Or maybe not.

"Do we have to get a newsflash every time your body does something?" Diego said disgusted. "He's doing it for attention, just ignore him," Manny advised. Keeva was inclined to agree, but her paws were starting to feel a little warm too. "Uh, guys..." she started, feeling heat pooling beneath her paws. "Seriously my feet are really-hot! Hot! Hot!" Sid barked dancing around trying to avoid the heat surging up from beneath the ground. "He ain't lyin'!" Keeva yelped sprinting forward, closer to Diego, in attempt to relieve her burning paws.

The earth rumbled dangerously beneath them.

Keeva gasped, eyes wide.

"Tell me that was your stomach," Manny asked Diego, but really the all knew the answer to that. But then, Sid had to go and put his own naïve input into an already bleak conversation. "I'm sure it was just thunder," he said casually, then hesitated. "...from under...ground?"

It looked like hell on earth.

Hot steam, and smoke, and flame came shooting out of the icy terrain all around them. The heat of it nearly unbearable, and the force in which it breached the surface nearly impossible to withstand.

Cries of fright ripped from everyone's throats as the lot of them tried to dodge being torched. Sid, somehow, taking the lead as the ice collapsed around them. The narrow strip they were left with, melting fast under the heat of the surrounding lava.

"C'mon guys, keep up with me!" Sid hollered, but all Manny and Keeva could do was glare as the sloth ran in place. "I would if you were moving!" Manny bellowed causing Sid to fall flat on his face. "Sid, get up, c'mon!" Keeva could hardly be angry, what with all the panic bubbling up inside her as she looked at the crumbling earth around them. Suddenly, Diego was there by her side, eliciting another gasp from her. She peered over her shoulder to where he had jumped, and felt her resolve strengthen. If he could make a jump like that, then so could she.

"I wish I could jump like that," Sid mentioned. "Wish granted!" Manfred kicked the sloth and sent him sailing to safety on the other side...well, safe with minor head trauma. Keeva's muscles rippled as she prepared her own jump, "Manny, you better get my boy across." With that, the she-wolf launched herself into open air. The jump was only a few seconds long, but in dead space, with nothing beneath you but liquid fire, it lasted a lifetime.

Keeva landed on the other side, stumbling a bit, but all in one piece nonetheless. Quickly, she spun around to check the progress of the remaining herd members.

"C'mon, move faster!" She'd never heard Diego quite so panicked. "Have you noticed the river of lava?" Or Manny for that matter, she could almost see it swimming in his eyes, despite their distance. "Come on Manny, you can do it!" She shouted encouragingly across the void. And he did, finally, clearing the gap as more ice crumbled into the fire below. Leaving Diego with quite the obstacle in front of him. He'd have to jump twice as far as the three of them just had, and while his agility had just been proven, that was quite the leap.

Her heart raced, her breath froze in her lungs, and she watched with wide, unwavering eyes. She was worried. She was so worried she could've been sick, especially as the tiger took the lunge. Soaring across the wide expanse of space, but he was losing altitude too fast. He was falling. He wasn't going to make it.

"Diego!" She cried out desperately as his tawny paws scraped against the icy ledge. Manny's head turned, eyes widening about as far as hers, and he quickly dropped Roshan at her paws. "Watch Pinkie!"

Manny couldn't rush this, as bad as she knew he wanted to, he couldn't. The ice was still giving and his weight added to the already compromised ledge wasn't helping. He edged out as far he could, then extended his trunk, prompting Diego to extend his paw. Keeva and Sid watched with rapt attention as the neared each other, so close to making contact, so close to being safe, before it was all ripped away.

The ledge collapsed, Diego started to fall, but before he could even work up a good scream, Manny had a trunk around him. The threat wasn't over. The ice cracked dangerously, there was still much weight on the thin surface. Thinking fast, Manny flung the tiger over his shoulder, sending him to safety among the snow and rocks.

There was no relief to be had.

Manny fell with a trumpeting cry.

"Manny!" Keeva and Sid shrieked. Tears pricked at her eyes, she didn't want to lose anyone else, she couldn't lose anyone else. She couldn't-

His trumpet sounded again, this time getting...closer?

Keeva gasped for the third time in a few minutes as the mammoth came shooting back up, before crash landing a few feet in front of her. "Manny!"

She picked up Roshan by the collar of his shirt and approached, second only to Sid. "Oh, Manny, Manny, Manny! Speak to me, are you okay? Say something, anything!" There was a muffled response, broken and unintelligible, but at least he was speaking. "What? What?" Sid urged, "I can't hear you."

"You're...standing on my...trunk..."

"Oh sorry."

"That was...really brave," Keeva couldn't help but mention.

"Why would you do that?" Diego asked quietly, "you could've died trying to save me."

"That's what you do in a herd," Manny said, breath regained, "you look out for each other."

Those words resonated in the hearts of both predators.

"I don't know about you guys," Sid mentioned as he scooped up Roshan, "but we are the weirdest herd I've ever seen."

"I second that," Keeva nodded, "but lets get going before something even more life threatening happens, okay?"

So, they pushed on, covering a great amount of distance, despite the initial delay, and Manny seemed to be fine except for a subtle limp in his front leg. Keeva made a point not to notice it, guy pride and all that, but of course something else had to happen.

A snow storm hit them, and hit them hard. Keeva's pelt was stained silver, her teeth chattered, and she wished for nothing more than to be curled around one of man's fires. Circumstances what they were, however, all she could do was plead for a break.

"We won't be able to see for much longer!" She barked, "the storm's too strong!"

"I'm with the wolf," Manny agreed, and Keeva felt an odd bolt of relief when he didn't refer to her as 'pet.' "We gotta get this kid out of the wind."

Conveniently enough, there was a large slope of rock, blocking off a majority of the wind and snow. Keeva rushed toward it and shook out her fur as quickly as she could.

"Any more, Keeva?" Diego asked prompting her to look his way. She laughed when she found him buried in the snow she'd just shaken out. "Sorry, Diego."

"How much further?" Manny asked as he joined them. "Three miles," Diego replied taking his turn to rid himself of the snow. "I'm beat," Manny said, reaching his trunk up to retrieve Roshan. "We'll get there in the morning."

"Sounds good to me," Keeva hummed as she stretched out across the rock, only bothering to lift her head when she heard rock scraping against rock. "Sid?" She inquired, "what are you doing?"

"I'm putting sloths on the map," he informed her, not pausing in his crude interpretation of his species. "Huh," her head tipped to one side, but she could find nothing else to say on the matter. "Why don't you make him realistic and draw him laying down?" Apparently Manny did, however. "Yeah, Diego jumped in, "and make him rounder."

Manny took the rock and added a perhaps too large stomach to Sid's drawing, making Keeva snicker quietly under her breath. "Ha, ha," Sid deadpanned, "I forgot how to laugh." He took the rock back and started scribbling out his drawing, when embers danced in the air. Everyone drew in a surprised gasp and Sid grinned triumphantly, kissing his rock. "I'm a genius!"


	9. Chapter 9

A content sigh slipped out of her muzzle as the heat of the flames seeped into her dark fur, chasing away the last of the lingering chill. The storm was still raging around them, but right here, shielded by a great wall of rock, it was like a completely different world. Keeva could nearly sleep, but knew she mustn't, and so lifted her head. It wasn't like these three couldn't entertain her for a while.

"From now on you will call me Sid Lord of the Flames."

"Hey, Lord of the Flames? Your tail's on fire."

See?

Manny's comment was so casual that Keeva actually had to blink and look over at the sloth to make sure he wasn't joking. He wasn't. Of course not, Manny didn't know how to joke. Milliseconds later, Sid is running around in a panic, Keeva watches him wide eyed, Roshan laughs, and Diego, annoyed by his antics, pulls him down into a snowbank.

"Oh, thank you!" Sid gushed "from now on, I shall call you, Diego-"

"Lord of Touch Me and You're Dead," Diego snapped back with a low growl. Sid shrank away from him, but Keeva couldn't quite work up a good glare before the tiger pulled the sloth close for a noogie. "Aw, I'm just kiddin', you little knucklehead." Keeva blinked again, face contorting with shock. This was certainly a side of him she'd never seen before. Granted, you couldn't learn everything about a mammal in two days, but she was surprised to see a side of him that didn't scream remorseless assassin. It was kind of nice to see his usually hard eyes softened by humor, and a real smile playing at his lips, instead of a self-satisfied smirk or a snarl. Nice, but also strange, Keeva looked away.

"Hey, lovebirds, look at this."

Keeva had to crane her neck the slightest bit to see over the flames where Manny laid with the baby. She smiled warmly at Roshan standing on his wobbly little legs. Teetering unsteadily, Roshan started walking away from Manny.

"I don't believe it," Sid said in awe. Keeva pulled herself up and walked over to Diego, sitting by his side, so she could better watch Roshan's progress. He babbled and cooed as he toddled about, seemingly headed for Sid as the sloth beckoned him nearer.

"Come here you little biped," Sid cooed. "Come here little wormy worm, come to Uncle Sid." Keeva laughed quietly under her breath, Diego smiled, almost fondly, and Manny... Keeva had never seen a mammal look so proud. It was as saddening as it was heartwarming, at least as far as Keeva was concerned. How long had it been, she wondered, since the mammoth had lost his mate and calf? How long ago was it since he was smiling at his own child with such fatherly pride? Keeva's smile faded a little, a vice squeezing around her heart. Suddenly, she hated the thought of parting Roshan from him, even though she knew it was the right thing to do. Manny's loss was not a justifiable reason to rob Runar of his baby. Still, she wished there was some way she could offer him solace.

"Oh no, this way, this way."

Keeva's train of thought was derailed by Sid's urging. Roshan had evidently lost interest in the sloth and was now toddling toward Diego. Keeva couldn't quite help the stab of panic as the infant hugged the cat's foreleg, she side eyed the tiger warily as he stared down at the baby unblinking and stiff. Later, when she looked back on this memory, she'd laugh. For now, though, she remained tense and watchful, even as Diego offered the boy an awkward grin.

"Uh...good job," he muttered, "keep practicin'."

Content with the tiger's praise, Roshan moved on to Keeva, smiling up at her adoringly as she leaned down to nuzzle him. "Your papa would be so proud," she told him quietly, for his ears alone. She wasn't sure he understood, but he gurgled happily at the words nonetheless. Finally, Roshan begins to toddle his way back to Manny, stopped only when a sneeze sent him falling on his backside. Unharmed, he doesn't cry, only yawns and rubs at his eyes.

Keeva's proud smile turns sad.

This would be the time when Nadia scooped the little boy up in her arms and kiss his face. Her body would sway gently as she made her way back to the teepee with him, singing a song in a language that Keeva doesn't understand, but found beautiful just the same.

The smile faded completely.

Roshan would never know those things again. They would be just memories for him to look back on when he was older, when he missed her, when he wished desperately that she was still there. Keeva knew such wishes well.

"Mom and I'll get word to your mom, and she'll come and get you."

She wished Yule's words had been true. As a pup, she'd done nothing but watch the tree line, just knowing her mother would emerge at any moment and take her home.

Who was she kidding? Her mother had probably rejoiced at her disappearance. Her eyes stung and she blinked rapidly to force the water back. It hurt to think that way of the very wolf that had given her life, but really, why else would she not come?

"Hey...you alright?"

Keeva jumped, Diego's voice drawing her out of her dark thoughts. She blinked up at him, confused. "Yeah," she forced a grin, "sorry, just lost in thought I guess."

"Anything you want to share?"

She blinked again, his continued cordial mood was throwing her off a bit.

"Nothing really, just Roshan's mother." Was that guilt that flashed through his eyes? She couldn't be sure. "And my mother."

"Your mother?"

She winced, shoulders tense. "Yeah." The air between them was awkward now, and she felt she needed to explain. "Staying with the humans, it was never meant to be a permanent thing. My mother was supposed to come and find me, take me home.... but she never came."

Keeva felt horribly exposed in the silence that followed her revelation. Worried that he might be judging her for some reason, or worse, pitying her. She wondered if he thought even more pathetic now, it was one thing to be taken in by the humans, but to be abandoned to them?

"It's getting late," she said, nearly jumping to her paws when the silence became suffocating. "We should get some sleep." She paced back to her original place by the fire and laid down, staring hard at the dancing flames.

Diego laid down too, and in a few minutes, she knew he was sleeping.

She should have known better, honestly, what did she expect from a guy like Diego? He was all instinct and no heart. Moreover, he wasn't her friend, something she kept having to tell herself for some strange reason. Maybe now it would stick. Maybe now she'd think twice before trying to open herself up to someone she barely knew.

Keeva stared at the fire until the flames died and the ash quit smoldering, then she looked beyond the debris to Roshan curled up soundly in Manny's trunk. That sweet baby she'd been charged with protecting; she could take heart in knowing that he would be safely back in his father's arms tomorrow. But then, so would she. Abruptly, the she-wolf turned her eyes to the sky. Snow clouds still billowed overhead, blocking out the stars. Never before had she felt so torn apart. She'd never even thought of returning to a life in the wild until she was literally thrust into it, and now, now she could scarcely consider going back to the men's camps.

Not returning meant she would have to give up Roshan, it meant she'd have to master the hunt, and live life as a solitary wolf, because no pack would take her in now.

Sid's loud snoring drew her attention back to the sleeping mammals around her.

...Or maybe she could hang out with these guys...


	10. Chapter 10

The snow was driving again the next morning, but it wasn't nearly the blizzard it had been the night before. The herd pushed on, Sid holding the baby, as they came upon Half Peak. Keeva was tired, true to her word, she hadn't slept a wink. Now she was paying for it with sluggish reflex and a slow mind, per usual, she brought up the rear of the traveling party, so no one had really questioned her physical state.

Beyond that, her side seemed to be on fire today. It likely wasn't healing properly what with all the travel and strain she'd been putting on it. Whatever, getting Roshan to his father was her first priority, she'd straighten herself out later.

"Alright, let's get you all cleaned up," Sid said drawing Keeva's attention away from her personal problems and toward the three males. "I mean, what's your daddy going to say if you back all smushy and stinky liie this?" Keeva didn't know if she appreciated Sid's method of cleaning, but didn't mention it. Nor did she mention that Runar probably wouldn't care if Roshan was dirty, because human children l, for all their cuteness, could be disgusting little creatures.

"You clean up nice, little fella," Manny said swatting Sid's paw gently away from the baby's face. "I think he's starting to look like me," Sid boasted and Keeva snorted a laugh, probably the first real sound she'd made all day. "Hey, Diego, what do you think?"

Keeva's attention turned to the saber, who's quiet pensiveness had carried on into the morning. Meanwhile, his niceties disappeared into the night. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."

The she-wolf's heart stopped, body and mind going on high alert. She'd been hoping she was wrong about him, maybe he'd changed, but clearly she'd been delusional. No mammal made a complete turn around in two days, it just wasn't done.

"Why not?" Sid asked, confused. "Because if we save him he'll grow up to be a hunter, and who do you think he'll hunt?"

"That's rich coming from you," Keeva blurted on whim. "You being S hunter of man and all. We wouldn't even be in this situation if your pack had hunted gazelle like a normal pack."

Diego didn't miss a beat. "What would you know about hunting, pet, you eat straight out of man's hands."

"Well," Sid cut right into the tension like it was nothing. "Maybe because we saved him, he won't hunt us." Wishful thinking at best. "Yeah," Diego growled "and maybe he'll grow fur and a long skinny neck and call you Mama!" Keeva leapt between Sid and the snarling cat with a rumbling growl of her own, flashing her teeth at the raging tiger.

"What's your problem?" Manny asked, because Diego clearly did have a problem. His aggression had been through the roof all morning. "Nothing," Diego muttered, "lets go, I'm freezing my tail off."

Keeva gives him one last warning growl before stalking after Manny and Sid.

They move further into the rocks, and Keeva feels herself getting nervous. Between the snow and the stones, there are lots of places for pretty much anything to hide, and so far they hadn't had an ideal road trip. She tried not to think about it too hard, Roshan was almost home, and it was best not to kick a gifted horse in the face. Right?

Diego falling behind slipped her notice, until Manny spoke up. She looks over her shoulder at the feline, but her eyes move past him when she spies another tawny body dart through the snow and take cover. "Son of a-"

"Get down!"

"What?"

"Huh?"

Diego darts over to them, where they have temporary cover in a small cave-like structure. "Get down and follow me."

"What have you done?" Keeva's tone was accusatory, her body shaking with rage. She'd expected it, had seen it coming, and yet she was still caught off guard. "At the bottom of Half Peak, there's an ambush waiting for you." And there it is, the truth she'd known all along, cruelly slapping her in the face. Diego delivers the news well, she almost believes the shamefaced expression he's wearing. She won't believe it, Diego could not be trusted, and she knew that was the truth.

"What?" Sid yelped, clutching Roshan closer.

"What do you mean ambush?" Manny's rage is as poorly concealed as Keeva's own.

"I knew it," Keeva seethed, "you sorry waste of fur."

"You set us up," Manny realized and Diego rushed to explain himself, only no one was believing him now. "It was my job!" Diego hissed "I was supposed to get the baby, but then-"

"You brought us home for dinner!" Manny cut him off in thundering accusation. "That's it!" Wow, Sid sounded mad too, "you're out of the herd!"

"I'm sorry." The soft way in which he delivers the words are enough to make Keeva's heart trip, and then Manny is slamming the cat against the wall with a tusk. "No you're not. Not yet."

"Listen I can help you," Diego insisted. Keeva shook her head, teeth bared, "don't listen to him."

"We can fight our way out," Manny agreed.

"You can't!" Diego said, "the pack's too strong!"

"Please," Keeva scoffed, "there aren't that many if you."

"It's not just sabers down there," Hazel eyes locked with blue and Keeva could be sick at the sincerity shining in his eyes. "Wolves?" She croaked. Diego nods to the best of his ability. "Six of them, led by a guy named Luca."

All of the blood drained from her face and she slumped down in shock, the rest of the world fading around her. It can't be happening, they were never meant to cross paths again, he was supposed to think she was dead, killed off by a human pack. Dizzy and hyperventilating, his name stumbled off her lips in choked fear.

"Luca..."


	11. Chapter 11

"He knows I'm alive?" She asked, mostly to herself. "How does he know I'm alive?" She was pacing now, movement was key in her vow not to faint. "One of his scouts overheard us talking about you. You were guarding the cheif's den, you were our only obstacle in reaching the baby. He promised an alliance between our packs if we handed you over to him alive."

"Oh, and that was just too good of an offer to pass up, huh?"

"When your pack is starving and the entire herbivore population is migrating south? Yes. It is too good to pass up." Diego relented a little at the sight of her tears, angry or scared, he wasn't sure. "I was following orders."

"How do you know this Luca guy anyway?" Sid interrupted. "He was Head Alpha of my pack," she answered somewhat relunctantly. "He tried to kill me when I was a pup, and someone very dear to me sacrificed their life to save me." She bared her teeth at the saber, "and you made her final act a meaningless one."

"I'll get you out of this," Diego swore, "you and Roshan. Then you can both go back to the human pack where you'll be safe." There is no such thing as safe when Luca is on your trail, but Keeva didn't say that. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at the tiger. "And why should I believe you?" The question wasn't harsh, or condescending, just open and blunt. She was tired, and scared, and hurt in more ways than one, and she was about to walk into the biggest fight of her life.

"Because, I'm the only one who can."

The plan wasn't a good one, if Keeva was being honest, but it was the only one they had, so she hoped they could make it work.

Keeva walked alongside Diego, closer than what was strictly necessary, and shaking with nerves. Diego locked eyes with her, for just a moment, passing along a silent assurance. She had to gather her courage, be brave. She had to be an Alpha. She gave him a subtle nod and they both turned their attention to the scene before them.

Diego's pack, a group of tawny male tigers, were perched on the rocks, backs to them. Luca's pack was below in the snow, pacing and excitable. She recognized two of Luca's sons, older now, lounging in the snow. A she wolf, Aura, Keeva's puphood rival, and two more wolves that Keeva didn't recognize from this distance. Deep breath, it was time.

"Hello ladies," Diego purred as they approached, all eyes fell on him, and then her. "Hey, look who decided to show up," a brawny male tiger sneered. Keeva tried not to shrink. Her former pack mates were eyeing her with disdain, she half expected Aura, if not Luca himself, to lunge at her outright.

"Diego," Keeva's attention snapped to the sabers again as Diego's Alpha, Soto, spoke. "I was beginning to worry about you."

"No need to worry," Diego purred, "in about two minutes you'll be satisfying your taste for revenge."

"And you've brought the wolf," Soto acknowledged her with something of a sneer, "very nice."

Diego moved away from her, and while the action made her feel vulnerable and exposed, she did not hurry to replace the distance. Instead, she remained standing where the saber had left her, waiting for a member of the pack to acknowledge her. Finally, the temptation was too much for Aura to resist.

"Keeva," she crooned coldly, "how nice to see you again. It's been so long." Aura, for all her meanness was probably one of the prettiest wolves Keeva had ever seen. Tall and slim with silver fur accented by black points along the legs, tail, ears, and muzzle. She was definitely an Alpha's Alpha, but she was also petty, and rude, and with the temper about as docile as cobra's. unlike her puppy days, Keeva knew now, she could use this to her advantage. After all, she'd had plenty of practice on Diego.

"Hello, Aura," she greeted cordially. "My your looking thin, are you well?" Diego hadn't been exadurating, the migrating herds had left the more northern predators more than a little underfed. And a thin Alpha was a weak Alpha, it entailed that she couldn't provide for herself, let alone a pack. Didn't make for an ideal mate either. "Better be careful," Keeva went on, "someone might mistake you for an Omega before too long."

Laughter and humored "oooohh's!" Were had at Aura's expense, by the younger pack members at any rate. The older wolves, Luca's two sons, and a grey-brown female she didn't recognize had only moved to form a loose circle around her, to insure she didn't escape. Totally fine. Nothing to worry about. Aside from Aura, there were two other young males, ones Keeva recognized now that she saw them, but had no quarrel with. River and Duke, both grey, both half wits.

"Well, we couldn't all eat from Man's hand could we?" Aura sneered coldly "Why not?" Keeva boasted "it's a good gig, free room and board, and all you have to do is keep an eye on their cubs." She smiled at the female, "any wolf with half a brain can see the benifits. No struggling for food, no freezing your tail off in winter, no trouble from neighboring packs. It really doesn't get any better than that. Of course," Keeva amended, "beauty and brains would just be asking too much of you, I know."

Duke and River were rolling in the snow laughing instead of trying to maul Keeva for insulting one of her betters, but Keeva was fine with that honestly. Never before had she seen such a comical expression on Aura's face, her eyes bugging out and her jaw slackened, it was priceless.

"We'll see who's laughing when Luca gets done with you!" Aura swore heatedly, grabbing the dark female by the scruff of her neck, giving her a good shake, before dragging her along. Keeva didn't fight her, everything was going according to Diego's plan. She could only hope he and the others were doing just as well as she was dragged into the dark opening of a cave.

Aura dropped her unceremoniously onto the floor and promptly turned around and left. Scowling at the retreating female, Keeva pulled herself back onto her paws, she did not want to be caught in a downed position when-

"Well, the runaway pup has found her way home at last." Keeva froze, turning her head to meet the eyes of a wolf she thought she'd never see again.

"H-hello, Luca."


	12. Chapter 12

Warning: This chapter has a descriptive fight scene that details blood and injury. It also mentions death of a minor character.

Her Alpha materialized out of the shadows, every bit as nightmarish as she remembered him to be. Only this time, she wasn't dreaming. He was very real, and the threat he posed was very real.

"Keeva," his tone was pleasant, cordial. "You've grown up so much."

"Um," she wasn't sure what to say. She'd expected him to lunge right for her throat. "Yeah, I guess I have."

He started circling her, observing her critically. "You are recently injured."

"Yes."

He was beginning to unnerve her. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, but she couldn't. She'd come too far, and she had a plan to see through, she had to do her part. "Soto's lieutenant?" Keeva could only assume that was Diego, and gave an affirming nod. "Yes."

He disappeared behind her and Keeva found she wasn't able to stand not having him in her sight. She rounded on him, lapis irises meeting earthen brown. He froze in surprise, fur bristling, when she did not immediately break eye contact. She could see it written all over him. She would not submit to him, she would not accept death.

She was challenging him.

"Living with the humans has emboldened you," he chuckled darkly. Keeva's fangs glowed in the dark of the den, a growl rumbled up out of her throat. Enough time had passed, Diego and Manny should have already doubled back for Sid and the baby. With the saber pack dealt with, it was time to engage the wolves. "It's time I put you back in your place," a growl rumbled out his throat, muzzle wrinkling. "Right next to Ribar."

It was impossible to tell who lunged first, or who made first contact. All Keeva knew was that she tasted fur and skin and blood, and that her claws were dragging Luca's flank, and that she was being bitten and clawed in return.

Keeva sprang away from him to assess the the situation, ripping away flesh as she went, earning a howl of pain from the Head Alpha.

Already, the cave was painted with red from both wolves. Keeva, crouching in the mouth of the den, a shadow in the light of the opening, dropped the hunk of meat. Her eyes burned into the brown male, a hole now taking up a good deal of his shoulder, long, deep

gashes painted his hip and down to his hock.

She snapped her teeth and slapped the ground with her forepaws. Challenging him further. This was it, one wolf would not walk away from this. Death was inevitable, and both were determined to be the victor. Luca lunged at her, knocking her off of her feet, and sending them both out into the open air.

Using her hind legs, she pushed and clawed at his gut, while her forepaws braced his chest, her teeth latching his muzzle and nose. He snarled furiously, unconsciously stepping back to wrench his muzzle free, giving Keeva the opportunity to climb back to her feet.

Suddenly, the dark she-wolf was blindsided.

Keeva howled out in agony as her injured side was slammed and subsequently ripped into. Even Luca seemed to be caught off guard by the new wolf's presence. Keeva twisted around, catching a black leg in her teeth, jerking her head sharply to one side.

Aura let out a high pitched yelp as her leg was pulled out of place.

"This is not your fight!"

Keeva was surprised as Luca lunged for the Alpha female. She had suspected he'd be grateful for the reprieve, guess not. The rules of fighting were simple when it came to challenging the Head Alpha. Any number of wolves could present the challange and, according to their laws, Luca would face the challengers alone to prove that the head of the pack was where he was meant to be.

Aura had dishonored him by coming to his aid, implying that he was too weak to take down his advisory. In this case, a lone Omega female, and if that was t a smack in the face...

Keeva blinked in shock as Aura's freshly killed body slumped to the ground before her.

"Now," Luca snarled licking blood from his chops. "Where were we?"

Keeva scrambled, climbing her way back to her paws, blood pouring from several fresh wounds. Instead of strategizing an attack on her Alpha, her attention pulled at the sound of a furious roar. Head snapping to the source, blue eyes widened at the sight of the saber fight still taking place. Soto lunged for Diego, who was defending Manny, and Keeva cried out. "Look out!" Words delivered in the nick of time, he dodged Soto's assault.

Luca took advantage of her distraction, lunging straight for her throat. The feeling of teeth locking around her was unforgettable, the feeling of fur and skin being penetrated as Luca's jaw secured his apparent victory. Keeva stumbled back in shock, heedless of the rocky ledge, and both wolves were sent tumbling down into the snow and rocks below. Faintly, through the sound of wind rushing around her, she heard her name called by three panicked voices.

"Keeva!"

Luca let go of his hold on her, in favor of screaming, but Keeva couldn't even do that. Funny how the last mammal she was ever going to see alive was the one mammal that wanted her dead. Young and naive, she thought she'd find a mate in life, have a couple of litters, watch them grow up, spoil her hrandpups, and die peacefully surrounded by them all.

So much for that.

Luca hit the ground first, back smashing a conical rock, before he slumped into the powdery snow. Keeva landed right onto of him, angled just enough that she missed the rock by mere hairs. Not that Luca was a better safety mat.

They laid there, one on top of the other, breathing labored and harsh. Staring into the eyes of the one they loathed the most.

"Why?" She rasped, world teetering on darkness. They could have both lived long lives. Why did he make it his mission to end her, a lowly Omega?

"Jeapordized the peace...of the pack."

"How?" She blinked slowly, determined to have all her answers, before greeting death. "Not...entirely Omega..." Luca coughed up some blood, gagging on it. "Omega mother..."

Keeva didn't want to ask, "Father?" She had seconds before the dark took over. Their eyes remained locked, glossy, but unwavering.

"...Me..."

The world spiraled out of focus and faded to black.


	13. Chapter 13

Warnings: near death experience. Sooo many feels!

"...va?"

Something was nagging at the edges of her consciousness, coaxing her out of the darkness.

"...eeva?"

That was a voice. She knew that voice. She pushed through the darkness, she had to find that voice.

"Keeva?"

The she-wolf opened her eyes with a pained groan. Everything hurt.

"D...Diego...?" Her voice was raspy and weak, and she wondered if the saber had even heard her. "I'm here," he said stepping into her line of sight. "You...okay?"

"You're seriously asking me that question?"

Keeva took a deep breath, her ribs screamed in protest, leaving her to grit her teeth against the pain.

"Soto...blindside..."

"Failed. He's dead now, the pack scattered." A pause. "Luca's too." Keeva blinked, a long slow blink. "Hmm...Ro-" she coughed, "Roshan?"

"He's here." The baby was placed on the ground at her side. His soft little hands fisted into the fur of her shoulder while he made the saddest little sounds Keeva had ever heard. "Now, now, little one," she said gently, "don't cry." She took another painfully deep breath. "You've got to be strong, for your daddy, and for me too. I've loved you like my own pup...I always will."

"C'mon Keeva," Sid said, "don't be like that. You can lick this." The she-wolf ignored him. "You guys have to get him to the Pass...it'll close over with snow, before the day's out."

"We can't just leave you here!" Sid cried desperately. "Yes. You can." Keeva growled, but it choked off. "I promised to get him to his father...I've gone as far as I can. You have to take him the rest of the way. Please."

"We will," Diego affirmed and Keeva visibly relaxed. "You uh..." Diego seemed to hesitate, "you're an Alpha in my book. Just wanted you to know that."

Thanks," she grinned a little. "M-Manny?"

"Here." A trunk rested on her shoulder, where Roshan l's hands had. "Take care of them. They need you, Sid especially, but Diego too. He's just too proud to admit it."

"We had a good run." Manny sounded mournful.

"Yeah, we did. Now hurry, don't break my promise."

Keeva's eyes slid closed and she listened to the sounds of their footfalls and Roshan's (and Sid's) crying. Her heart breaking at the sound, until she slipped into unconsciousness again.

Someone was nuzzling her awake, much to her annoyance. She wanted to sleep, she was cold. Irritably, she snapped her teeth at the intrusive muzzle. "Don't you snip me, young lady."

Keeva's heart stopped. No...it couldn't be, she was-

Her eyes sprang open to look and found herself falling into a pair of amber eyes as warm as the summer sun.

"Now then, there are those eyes," an eaqually warm smile spread across a cinnamon and creme muzzle. "It's time to get up."

"Ribar," Keeva croaked, "I'm really tired."

"I know you are," the she-wolf soothed, "but you can't go to sleep again. You won't wake up."

"Will I get stay with you?"

"Don't talk that nonsense," Robards reprimanded, "you mustn't give up. You've a long life ahead of you, if you'll just take it."

"I miss you, Ribar." Keeva whimpered lifting her muzzle from the snow, Ribar bowed her own head and nuzzled the fallen she-wolf. Keeva pressed in as deeply as she could, Ribar was so warm, so alive. She could even smell the pine needle scent clinging to her fur.

"And I you, little one, but you mustn't stay."

"I don't know if I can get up," Keeva confessed. She was beginning to feel rather stiff. "You can," Ribar encouraged, "my Keeva is too stubborn to accept death. You can get up."

It took some work, aimless flailing of her limbs, to coax the blood flow back into them. Eventually, a little painfully, she was able to roll onto her stomach, and off of her now late father. Her ribs ached in protest, and she would much prefer to rest, but Ribar nudged her impatiently.

"Keep going," she urged, "you must get up." With something between a groan and a growl, Keeva worked on getting her paws beneath her. It was hard, her limbs felt brittle and weak, and several times she fell, but Ribar kept pushing her.

"Keep going, you must get up."

Just when Keeva nearly gave in, nearly accepted defeat, she managed to stand. Not very steadily, she swayed with the nausea that came with the blood loss, but she was standing.

"Ribar, I did it!" She exclaimed looking for her protector, wanting to see the pride in her eyes she knew would be there, only to find the cinnamon she-wolf was gone.

Surprised, Keeva tested the air for her scent. There wasn't one. "Ribar?"

Nothing answered her but the wind and snow.

Standing had been a challenge, but walking was an even harder feat. Every step racked her with pain, but she kept going, just like Ribar had told her too. She kept walking and she kept on the scent of her herd, who had surprisingly covered a lot of distance. It did not dismay her, in fact, she was rather proud.

Eventually though, she made it to the final hill, the one that led up into the mouth of the Pass, limping all the way. She didn't think she'd ever top it, but she finally did, and it was well worth it.

As she crested the hill, her eyes locked with Roshan's, who was held safely in the arms of his retreating father. Keeva sighed in relief and smiled at the boy, who waved at her as he rested his head on Runar's shoulder.

"Bye!" Sid sniffed, pulling her attention to her friends. "Bye-bye!"

"C'mon, Sid, you know humans can't talk."

Well here was her chance.

"They can actually," she informed Diego casually, who turned to look at her with wide eyes. "It just takes a bit to understand them, strange creatures, humans are."

"Keeva!" Sid exclaimed and rushed her, knocking her clean off her paws. "Sid!" She yelped "heel!"

The sloth dropped her immediately, "sorry."

Keeva staggered back to her paws with a weary grin, "s'okay."

"Keeva," Diego bumped her shoulder lightly, carefully. "Welcome back from the dead. Knew you had it in you."

"You need a lift?" Manny offered pausing at her side. "If it isn't too much trouble," Keeva panted, "it's been a long day."

"I second that," Manny agreed helping the she-wolf onto his back. "Hey Manny," Sid asked "can I ride next?"

"Sure" Manny shrugged, "why not?"

"How about you, tiger, want a lift?"

"No thanks," Diego said as he took up the lead. "I've got a save whatever dignity I got left."

"Guy pride," Keeva rolled her eyes. Manny was really comfortable...

"You're hanging out with us now," Sid said, "pride's got nothing to do with it."

"So," Keeva ventured, "south?"

"This is going to be the best migration ever!"

-The End

(I'm working on a sequel!)


End file.
